thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--‘Trump Remains The Leader’: President Brings In $207 Million After Election Day

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President Donald Trump raised $207.5 million in conjunction with the Republican National Committee in the weeks after Election Day, a mammoth figure that underscores his grip on the GOP even after he lost to President-elect Joe Biden by at least 7 million votes.
“These tremendous fundraising numbers show President Trump remains the leader and source of energy for the Republican Party, and that his supporters are dedicated to fighting for the rightful, legal outcome of the 2020 general election,” Bill Stepien, his 2020 campaign manager, said in a statement.
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The new figures, released Thursday by the Trump campaign, are even greater than estimations published earlier this week by media outlets.
The president’s campaign has been sending a barrage of misleading fundraising emails and text messages to supporters, urging them to donate while claiming the money would largely be used to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
Trump and his surrogates have continued to spread lies and misinformation about the race even after it became clear that Biden had won, filing a bevvy of legal challenges in key battleground states in an attempt to overturn those results. The president has ultimately lost every legal challenge, and all six battleground states he targeted have now certified their vote counts and declared Biden the winner.
Yet Trump has refused to concede and has been urging his supporters to send more money. The fine print behind those donation appeals, however, says that most of the money ― the first 75% of small-dollar donations ― will go toward his new political action committee, Save America. The remaining 25% will go to the RNC’s operating expenses. Donors would have to give more than $5,000 before their money would go to the recount fund.
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Regardless, the fundraising figures are huge. Top Republicans have continued to cheer on Trump and his hold on the party remains strong even as GOP leaders begin to court other possible presidential contenders for the 2024 election.
RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said Thursday that the monetary haul would help the party’s efforts next month in Georgia, where the state’s two Senate seats ― and control of the chamber for the next two years ― will be decided in runoff elections.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--First Game Of Thrones Prequel Images May Reveal Fiery Secrets

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Like @GameOfThrones says, dragons are coming ...
On Thursday, HBO surprised fans by announcing that the Game Of Thrones prequel, House Of The Dragon, will begin production in 2021. And how could a Targaryen-focused series be fire without concept art revealing a couple of dragons?
Dragons are coming.#HouseoftheDragon begins production in 2021. pic.twitter.com/Bxl763FVdY — Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) December 3, 2020
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Though the dragon art was presented without names, the speculation ― as shown by this tweet from Elio & Linda, super fans turned collaborators with author George R.R. Martin ― is that the dragons are Sunfyre the Golden and Caraxes, aka the Blood Wyrm.
Nice concept art! Guessing these might by Sunfyre the Golden (looks like a young dragon) and Caraxes, the Blood Wyrm #HouseOfTheDragon #GameOfThrones #dragons https://t.co/uAnT5ToLnj — Elio & Linda (@westerosorg) December 3, 2020
So what does this all mean?
House Of The Dragon is inspired by Martin’s tale of Targaryen history, Fire & Blood. It’s a long, long history. But these images seem to offer vital clues about the series.
According to Fire & Blood, Sunfyre was said to be the “most beautiful dragon ever seen upon the earth,” while Caraxes was among the fiercest. Both of them were key players in the Targaryen civil war, the Dance Of The Dragons.
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Earlier this year, Entertainment Weekly reported that sources said the Dance Of The Dragons would be “tackled at some point” in the prequel series. These images, along with previous casting news of Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, seem to confirm that and even hint that the civil war may be the main focus of the show.
You can think of the Dance Of The Dragons as basically HBO’s Succession if the Roy family all had fire-breathing monsters and tried to kill each other.
Following the death of King Viserys, all hell breaks loose when the Targaryens can’t agree on whether Aegon II or Princess Rhaenyra will rule Westeros next. The dispute nearly tears the realm apart, leading to backstabbing, betrayal and a lot of, you know, fire & blood.
In summary: Daenerys, if you’re looking for dragons, look no further than this Game Of Thrones prequel.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--This Woman Illustrated The Pandemic And Didn't Miss A Thing

HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
Jenni Sparks loves to journal – and she’s ridiculously good at it.
The 32-year-old illustrator from London enjoys documenting her life through words and images – something she’s done while travelling before. This year, though, travel was out the question. So instead, she illustrated the pandemic – and the result captures just what we’ve experienced this year.
“When everything was getting more serious and the idea of lockdown was imminent in the UK, I saw some posts on Instagram talking about how it would be interesting to keep a diary of this time in history,” she tells HuffPost UK.
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“Last year I travelled round Europe and kept an illustrated journal of my travels, and thought it would be a good idea to apply the travel journal formula to my emotional state instead!”
HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
During lockdown, when there wasn’t much to do, Sparks says she spent a lot of her time walking around the streets of London and observing all the changes happening to the city. “It went from being the busiest city to completely quiet, and it was pretty strange,” she says.
“I kept a note on my phone of all the things that I saw or thought or felt during the week, and then on Sunday mornings I picked out the most important ones and illustrated them.”
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In her illustrations, she marked the dates of the week she was drawing, as well as specific things that had happened, and her own thoughts and feelings.
“Will we ever be able to make plans again?” one question on the page below reads. While another page captures the kids’ rainbow drawings for the NHS, staring at our own faces on Zoom, and the launch of Test and Trace.
HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
Illustrating how the world was changing was a huge help for Sparks, mentally.
“Firstly because it gave me a routine (I drew it every Sunday),” she says, “and it also allowed me to mentally distance myself from how I was feeling, which often was not very good, as well as process the rapid succession of events that were constantly happening.
“In a weird way, actually drawing myself in the journal allowed me to laugh at what was going on which for me is an excellent coping mechanism.”
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HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
Sparks says she kept a diary a lot as a teenager, then picked it up again a couple of years ago as a way of helping her process her thoughts and feelings.
Now, she’ll write two to three pages most mornings, as well as keeping the illustrated journal for the pandemic. “I’d encourage other people to do it, too,” she says.
“I think it’s important for mental health to get everything out of your head and on to paper.”
HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
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HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
HuffPost UK Jenni Sparks
Sparks decided to turn her illustrations into a short, self-published zine – and it’s available to buy for £8 on her website.
“It’d make a good Christmas gift, if I say so myself!” she adds.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--6 Subtle Signs You’re Dealing With Seasonal Depression

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For people who struggle with seasonal depression, the shorter days aren’t just a bummer. This time of year typically marks the onset of their symptoms, which can be debilitating at times.
Also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), this mental health condition is a subtype of clinical depression that starts and ends around the same time every year — usually beginning in autumn, lasting through winter and subsiding in spring. The decreased daylight in the autumn and winter months is thought to trigger most cases of SAD.
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“Sunlight helps moderate wellbeing, so when less of it is available, it derails our biological clock — also known as our circadian rhythm — resulting in a mood disorder with a seasonal onset,” said psychologist Deborah Serani, a professor at Adelphi University and author of “Living With Depression.” Changes in serotonin and melatonin levels during this time of year may also play a role in the disorder.
martin-dm via Getty Images Seasonal affective disorder is a subtype of clinical depression. Symptoms usually begin and end around the same time each year.
It’s not uncommon to experience the “winter blues,” a slight mood shift or sluggishness due to colder weather and less sunshine. But seasonal depression has a more significant impact on your daily functioning.
“Winter blues don’t interfere with your ability to enjoy life or accomplish day-to-day activities,” Serani said. “But if your winter blues become more pronounced, negatively impacting school, work, home and personal life, a more involved disorder may be operating.”
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Some experts worry that the ongoing stress brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic will make this an especially difficult few months for those with SAD — and the reprieve they’ve come to expect in the spring may be less apparent.
“On one hand, people with SAD are used to isolating in the winter because they tend to withdraw and go into ‘hibernation mode’ as part of their symptoms,” University of Vermont psychologist Kelly Rohan, who studies seasonal depression, told Vogue.com. “However, I believe that the stress associated with the Covid-19 pandemic is contributing to both more severe depression symptoms than is typical in people with SAD this autumn [and] winter and the persistence of some depressive symptoms in the spring [and] summer when people with SAD typically feel their best.”
Wondering if you’re dealing with a minor case of the winter blues or seasonal depression? Read on to find out.
What To Look For
The signs of seasonal depression are generally the same as those associated with non-seasonal depression. For those living with SAD, symptoms tend to be most severe in January and February and then taper off in the springtime. Experts reveal some of the subtle signs to look out for below:
1. You feel persistent sadness through the winter months.
You may also experience feelings of hopelessness or helplessness during this time, Serani said.
While rare, some people experience “reverse seasonal affective disorder” and feel their worst in the spring and summer months.
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2. Your appetite has changed.
Changes in your eating patterns, like more cravings for comfort foods or eating more than usual, can indicate a bigger problem as well.
“SAD includes symptoms of increased appetite with carbohydrate craving, increased eating and weight gain,” said Raymond Lam, professor and leadership chair in depression research at the University of British Columbia.
3. You’re not excited by activities that you used to enjoy.
Your favourite hobbies used to fill you with excitement, but during this time of year you couldn’t care less about them.
“Diminishing of pleasure, flat affect and apathy can be hallmark symptoms,” Serani said.
You may also observe a decrease in your desire for sex, Lam added.
“Winter blues don’t interfere with your ability to enjoy life or accomplish day-to-day activities.” - Deborah Serani, psychologist and author of ″Living With Depression”
4. You feel exhausted, no matter how much you sleep you get.
You might be sleeping more — but still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning or just feeling lethargic overall.
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“Sleeping a lot during the day, taking excessive naps or sleeping long the night before into the next day are symptoms to check out,” Serani added.
5. You’re more irritable than usual.
Have you noticed a shorter fuse? Maybe you’re quick to go off about something at work or more annoyed when your partner forgets to put household items away.
“Feeling chronically cranky, grumbly, argumentative, short-tempered and angry are signs of SAD,” Serani said.
6. You have trouble concentrating on a task.
Some people living with seasonal depression report feeling “out of it.” In addition to physical exhaustion, you may also be mentally spent, deal with brain fog or have slower reaction times, Serani said.
Eva Blanco / EyeEm via Getty Images Spending time outdoors, especially in the mornings, can help alleviate symptoms of SAD.
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How To Manage SAD
If the symptoms above are interfering with your daily life, make an appointment with your health care provider. Some medical conditions — like thyroid issues and anaemia — have symptoms similar to seasonal depression. Your doctor can rule out other potential causes before you begin treatment for SAD.
If you are dealing with seasonal depression, here are some ways to manage the disorder:
Get more sunlight.
“Individuals with SAD have an ultra-sensitive body clock that gets thrown off when exposed to less sunlight,” Serani said.
Spend some time outside — ideally in the morning, if you can.
“Even a dull grey winter day has five to 10 times as much light as even bright office lighting,” Lam said.
If you can’t get natural sunshine, try using a light therapy box (aka a SAD lamp) — which gives off an intense artificial light that mimics outdoor light — for 30 or so minutes in the morning to ease symptoms.
Create a sleep schedule.
Maintaining a healthy, consistent sleep routine can help you manage SAD. That means not sleeping in too late, not going to bed too early and minimising naps.
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Move your body.
This is easier said than done when you’re feeling relentlessly sluggish. But even light exercise — like walking or gentle yoga — can make a difference.
If you take your walk outside, you’ll get the benefit of moving your body and some sunshine.
Introduce more variety to your diet when you can.
This isn’t to demonise any certain foods, but to balance out how you feel overall.
“SAD sufferers tend to crave sweets and simple starches, so be mindful to eat lean proteins and complex carbs to manage your nutrition in the winter months,” Serani said.
Stay connected to loved ones.
The pandemic has made socialising safely a challenge, especially as temperatures drop. But even staying in touch with friends and family via text, phone calls or the occasional Zoom can reduce feelings of isolation.
Talk to a therapist.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--This Is How Top Chefs Make Scotch Eggs So Deliciously Runny Inside

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If you think we’ve asked some big questions in 2020, they’re not over quite yet. In December, we’ve been forced to consider a whopper, namely: is the humble Scotch egg a starter or a main, a picnic-ready snack or a “substantial meal”?
It was environment secretary George Eustice who first confirmed a Scotch egg “probably would count” as a substantial meal when ordered with a drink in a pub, only for Michael Gove to weigh in on This Morning that Scotch eggs were a starter – before backtracking to say that, yes, no, they were definitely a meal.
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Clearly we can’t get un oeuf, because there’s even a Scott Chegg joke making the rounds online, with people punning for England around their popular snack.
All this talk of Scotch eggs has given us a proper hankering. And despite the controversy and confusion of this week’s debate, there is one thing we can all agree on – Scotch eggs are utterly delicious. Cooked properly, that is. There’s a egg-sized hole between a dry, bitty shop-bought version and the properly gooey kind you’ll find at a farmer’s market, say, or (cough) a Tier 2 public house.
So, how do you achieve the perfect one? We’re talking a crispy golden shell, flavoursome sausage meat, and most importantly, a soft-boiled, runny-yolked egg inside. We turned to chefs and even the inventor of the humble Scotch egg, London’s Fortnum & Mason, to find out how to make this spherical wonder.
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“It’s all about simple flavours done well, and the traditional recipe uses just salt, pepper, and onions,” a Fortnum & Mason spokesperson tells HuffPost UK. “For more adventurous tastebuds though, we recommend adding oregano, sage, and garlic.”
The first Scotch egg was created in 1738, since when it’s come a long way.
″The name ‘Scotch egg’ comes from the fact they would contain anchovies, which gave them their strong, or ‘scotched’ flavour,” Fortnum’s explains. Originally, they contained a pullet – or young hen’s – egg. “The eggs we now use came later, with modern inventions even basing the recipe around quail, duck and goose eggs.”
Lateef Okunnu @lateef.photography Harwood Arms Scotch Egg
Whether they’re meaty, veggie or even vegan – yes, vegan eggs do exist – the perfect Scotch egg is all in the high-quality ingredients. And according to its original creators, free-range meat, eggs make all the difference. It’s also important to keep in mind the right ingredient ratio with a balanced flavour profile that doesn’t throw everything off.
“We keep our herbs and spices relatively simple – some red wine, rosemary and black pepper in the sausage meat,” says Sally Abé, head chef at the Harwood Arms of the classic Scotch egg. “You want to taste the yolk but also want that lovely meaty flavour. We use venison, which is a red meat, and we add a little bit of pork sausage meat in there to balance it out and stop it from getting dry.”
What’s the secret to a soft and jammy yolk that melts in your mouth when you cut a Scotch egg in half? “We cook the eggs for exactly six minutes and then they’re plunged into ice water, so the egg doesn’t get overcooked. After that, we deep-fry for five and half minutes at 180°C and then we rest it for three minutes before serving,“ says Abé. “They’re cooked just enough to be able to shape the patty around but still lovely and runny in the middle.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--How To Stay As Safe As Possible In Pubs And Restaurants

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The Christmas socialising season is upon us, but it looks very different this year under England’s three tier system.
In tier 1, you can go to pubs and restaurants with up to five friends outside of your household, but that applies to very few areas of the country (currently the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly). In tier 2, you can book a table with a substantial meal – as long as you only sit with people in your household. And in tier 3, pubs and restaurants can only offer takeaways.
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If you’re tempted to go to the pub – in any capacity – this Christmas, it’s likely to increase your exposure risk to Covid-19 compared to sitting at home.
“There’s still a lot we don’t know about the transmission of Covid between people, but there’s a strong consensus that Covid is spread more rapidly: indoors rather than outside, in crowded spaces, and where people cannot adequate keep their distance from others,” Professor Paul Hunter, an expert on infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, tells HuffPost UK.
“At the start of the national lockdown, we saw a surge of infections in England but only really in those authorities that were in tiers 1 and 2 where there were fewer pre-existing restrictions on mixing indoors.”
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Despite the risk, for some, supporting a local business, getting a change of scenery and having a mental health boost feels the right decision.
With that in mind, here are some tips for staying as safe as possible if you’re going to visit a pub or restaurant.
Don’t bend the household rules
If a mate says “go on, no one will know”, try to avoid temptation – even if they suggest booking two tables next to each other.
“Don’t bend the rules on not being allowed to socialise outside your household or bubble,” says Professor Hunter. “Just because you’re sat at another table, doesn’t mean you can spend two hours talking to a friend at the next table. That is still socialising indoors and against the rules in tiers 2 and 3.”
The household rule is there because you’re unlikely to be able to maintain social distancing with others on your table (or people nearby that you know).
Pubs and restaurants have also been told they must not accept bookings from multiple tier 2 households and must discourage “mingling” between tables, so do the staff a favour and don’t push your luck.
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Wear a face covering
The guidelines state you should wear a face mask in a pub or restaurant “except when seated at a table to eat or drink”.
“The best available scientific evidence is that, when used correctly, wearing a face covering may reduce the spread of coronavirus droplets in certain circumstances, helping to protect others,” the government says.
“Because face coverings are mainly intended to protect others from coronavirus (Covid-19) rather than the wearer, they are not a replacement for social distancing and regular hand washing.”
Sanitise your hands
You’ll probably be asked to sanitise your hands when entering the premises, but you should also re-sanitise where possible if you come into contact with frequently touched surfaces – such as doors or the bathroom.
“There’s a risk of transferring the virus via hands or surfaces,” Professor Sally Bloomfield, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, previously explained.
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“If [someone] is infected, they will: a) be expelling droplets that will settle onto surfaces, and b) likely be touching their mouth or nose and have the virus on their hands. Avoiding transmission via their hands and contact surfaces is key.”
Kemal Yildirim via Getty Images
Look out for good Covid practices
“Try and judge how well the management is doing on its safe Covid practices,” says Professor Hunter. “If you feel uncomfortable or are not impressed, try somewhere else.”
A key thing to look out for is how busy a venue is. Under the government guidelines, restaurants and pubs should be spacing tables two metres apart, “or one metre with risk mitigation where two metres is not viable”. To reduce your risk, avoid cramped spaces.
“If there are many people inside, the probability that someone may be infected is higher and the smaller air volume is less able to dilute the virus,” Dr Julian Tang, a consultant virologist and Professor in the Department of Respiratory Sciences at University of Leicester, previously explained.
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Stick to the one-way system
Hospitality settings have been advised to implement measures to reduce the congestion of customers, such as encouraging everyone to follow a one-way system when popping to the loo, or entering and exiting. Do your bit to help maintain social distancing by sticking to it.
Stop leaning on the bar
Pubs and restaurants have been advised to “reduce the number of surfaces touched by both staff and customers” – this includes leaning on the bar.
In tiers 1 and 2, pubs are required to offer table service anyway, so this shouldn’t be a big problem. But if you’re in a tier 3 area collecting a takeaway, avoid leaning on the bar – both for your own health and as a courtesy to other customers and staff.
Sit in a ventilated spot
Choose your seat wisely: if there’s a spot by an open window or open door, take it. You could also consider sitting outside if a venue has heaters or other helpful facilities. Good ventilation can help reduce infection rates.
“If the virus is in the air and you remove that contaminated air, you also remove the virus. This is what ventilation does,” Dr Tang previously explained.
“Think about if you have a smoky room or burn toast in the kitchen. Opening the windows dramatically lowers these contaminants, replacing bad air with fresh air. You can smell the impact almost immediately.”
SimplyCreativePhotography via Getty Images
Don’t drink too much
Having one too many impairs our judgement, so we may be less stringent with social distancing measures, says Professor Hunter.
“Enjoy your food and drink, but remember drunk people may not be able to be safe for themselves or others.”
Pay by contactless
Hospitality venues have been asked to encourage contactless payments where possible – so now’s not the time to raid your piggy bank. Have your card ready.
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Avoid public transport
You can’t jump in the car if you’ve had a drink, but that doesn’t make getting a bus or train home a good idea, either.
“Public transport, due to the proximity and shared surfaces, makes it a perfect place for viruses to spread,” Dr Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist based at the University of Sussex, previously told HuffPost UK. “Avoid any non-essential journeys on public transport.”
Consider staying home if you’re vulnerable


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--The Covid Vaccine Means We Must Delay Christmas

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If there is one thing we have learnt from the pandemic over the past year, it is that social isolation works. This is, however, an inconvenient truth in the lead up to Christmas.
At the time of writing, approximately 633,000 people in England are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the past week. This is one of the highest positivity rates recorded, equivalent to one in 85 people. Mortality statistics paint a similarly grim picture, with just under 2,700 deaths in the week prior, the highest figure since May.
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This week also marks the end of the national lockdown. Over the next three weeks, there is expected to be intense retail and social activity, as people make preparations for Christmas and start the annual travel exodus to be with close members of their family.
This poses a significant challenge for a Covid responsible Christmas, not least as the nation is lulled into a false sense of security by the promise of the impending vaccine roll-out.
“There is dangerously little capacity in the system to cope with any further infection spikes.”
At a time when infection rates are some of the highest they have ever been, people are permitted to have three weeks of heightened social activity, which will inevitably lead to a further spike in covid cases. This will be swiftly followed by five days of intense indoor social interactions, as small family groups are allowed to celebrate Christmas together.
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Complacency with regard to social distancing is also likely to increase, both due to the news of the vaccine and the inebriating effects of festive celebrations.
Christmas has the potential to become a national super-spreader event, leading to a catastrophic rise in cases at the start of the New Year. The effect of Thanksgiving in the United States proves testament to this.
Moreover, these celebrations are likely to represent the most significant exposure to covid for many of the most vulnerable members of the population who have been shielding over the past year. This is particularly true for the older generations, who are likely to come in contact with younger members of the family household who may be asymptomatic carriers.
The consequences of this nationwide exposure could be devastating.
“By filling chairs at our tables for this year’s Christmas, we risk many more empty chairs next year.”
Each year, there is a recognised increase in hospital respiratory related admissions and deaths in the weeks following Christmas. This is thought to be due to increased social interaction, time spent indoors and reluctance to seek medical advice over the festive period.
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As a result, the NHS experiences a surge in demand at a time when it is already buckling under winter pressures. The pressure for bed space this year will likely be dire, with covid patients already accounting for almost 10% of capacity.
The NHS will also be hit at a time when it desperately needs to recover. The past year has put enormous strain on already stretched staff and resources, already exhausted from the immense pressures of dealing with covid. There is dangerously little capacity in the system to cope with any further infection spikes.
By filling chairs at our tables for this year’s Christmas, we risk many more empty chairs next year. Gabriel Kuchta via Getty Images
Overall then, the current Christmas plans may represent the most significant super-spreader event this year, and the single greatest exposure to covid for the most vulnerable members of the population. Together with an overly stretched and exhausted NHS, a social festive period could spell one the biggest disasters for this country at a time when the covid era shows signs of resolution.
So what should we do this festive period? It’s imperative we delay a social Christmas, at least until the vaccination has been more extensively rolled-out and immunity has had an opportunity to take hold. We also need to give the NHS this vital time to recover from winter pressures already exacerbated by covid.
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Without sounding too much like a politician, we have all adapted enormously since the start of the covid pandemic, and it is important to maintain this discipline in order to see it to an end.
We must realise that by filling chairs at our tables for this year’s Christmas, we risk many more empty chairs next year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Your Favourite Pub Won’t Survive The Covid Winter

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To try and stave off a Tory revolt, Boris Johnson announced this week a £1,000 Christmas grant for wet-led pubs to try and show that he understands the effect of restrictions on businesses.
But instead of being thankful, publicans like me have reacted with anger. The paltry amount, the timing and the resentment at the way we have been vilified during the pandemic means we’ve taken the “gesture” as an insult, not a sign of caring.
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Measures to control this virus are clearly needed, but we should be asking whether restricting what people do in pubs is even effective. The government’s published scientific advice on pubs references a Korean nightclub, and spread traced to gyms – hardly the most pertinent examples.
Publicans running venues where people behave have a right to feel annoyed. The stipulation that punters must now have a substantial meal with their drinks is there because law makers think people are better behaved after food. I could tell them that an idiot is still an idiot even if they are full of pie and chips.
Customers enjoy their drinks next to a Christmas tree at the Chainlocker pub on December 2, 2020 in Falmouth, United Kingdom Hugh Hastings via Getty Images
For me, this measly Christmas grant has come as far too little, too late. I had to decide whether to open before the tiers were announced because I had to order beer. The extra money makes no difference to me, just as the extension of furlough made no difference to those already made redundant.
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Now we head towards Christmas knowing the hardship is set to continue. Our trade in December will be hit hard, not just because of forced restrictions, but because people will have to choose between family, or going out over the festivities. It’s a double blow as we’re going to lose out on Christmas trade, and if there is a new year spike, we’re going to have to pay for the tighter restrictions in January too.
Earlier in the year, Rishi Sunak told restaurants and pubs that had to close we’d get £3,000 for our struggles. In reality, this figure will be much less for most of us because it is scaled down for tier level and rateable value, which is a poor indicator of running costs and of how many people are employed by the pub. I expect to get just £934.
Although Johnson’s extra £1,000 has been formally announced, I’ve become too used to disappointment to get excited. I still don’t know if I will qualify. And even if I get the full £1,000, it will still not be enough to cover all of my fixed costs. Yet another example of how little those in power understand about running a business.
The government is keen to stress that restrictions on pubs are far more lax in this country than France and Germany. But what they don’t say is how the support packages actually compensate for loss of trade. Distinctions between wet or food-led pubs are the most basic, and the extent to which a pub is affected will be very different. Tacking on extra measures that we may or may not qualify for is tinkering with a system that doesn’t work and isn’t fit for purpose.
Many pub owners are part of the three million excluded for support because they are directors of limited companies. To run a pub, with all the liabilities and risks involved, you have to set up as a limited company and once you’ve done that it makes sense to pay yourself from that company as and when it can afford to do so. It Is also perfectly normal for the people running a pub to live above it. When we talk about pubs closing we are also talking about people losing their homes. It’s winter and we’re paying for the gas, our bills are more than domestic bills as not only are we paying commercial rates, but we have to heat a large building.
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“Gone will be the distinctive, historic pub on the village green to be replaced by luxury flats, and we will all be poorer for it.”
This year has made us all re-evaluate what is meant by community and what social interactions are important. The pub undoubtedly has a place within that community. For a lot of regular customers we’re a second living room and the only place they can go for a friendly chat. We’re an important part of many people’s lives from hosting engagement parties, baby showers to wakes. Pubs offer food, entertainment and socialisation. It’s where we go to make friends and have a laugh.
The pubs that will have been hit hardest of all are those that trade on providing a social space, the very definition of hospitality: welcome, friendly and warm.
A true community pub is a personality driven business, it is the front room of the landlady and landlord running it and is a reflection of them and their values. If they are driven out then the building will be snapped up by property developers and the soul of the place will be driven out with the owner.
Gone will be the distinctive, historic pub on the village green to be replaced by luxury flats, and we will all be poorer for it.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Giovanna Fletcher Wins I'm A Celebrity 2020 As She Is Crowned First-Ever Queen Of The Castle

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The author and podcaster was crowned the ITV reality show’s first-ever Queen Of The Castle during Friday night’s live final.
Giovanna beat Jordan North and Vernon Kay to win the crown, after the pair finished in second and third place respectively.
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Giovanna Fletcher has won I'm A Celebrity ITV
After hosts Ant and Dec revealed 12 million votes had been cast since lines opened to crown the winner, Giovanna said of her win: “I can’t believe it, people have literally picked up their phone and voted. I can’t believe it.
“It’s been the most amazing experience.”
Runner-up Jordan said: “I couldn’t have lost to anybody better.”
He said that Giovanna “totally deserved this”, describing her as the most “genuine, kindest person I have ever met”.
Jordan North, Vernon Kay and Giovanna Fletcher made this year's I'm A Celebrity final ITV
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Following his exit earlier in the show, Vernon told Ant and Dec: “I’m over the moon to be in third place. It’s been an awesome camp, and [ecstatic] is the best word to describe it. It’s been well and truly awesome.”
Friday night’s final had seen the three finalists take part in one final Bushtucker Trial each, in the hope of earning a slap up meal for camp.
Vernon took on the Table of Torment, which saw him shackled to a table for 10 minutes while a series of unpleasant items were placed on top of him.
Vernon had a host of castle critters placed on him while chained to a table ITV/Shutterstock
Giovanna had to eat a number of revolting items including a fermented duck egg, a cow’s nose, a fish eye, a sheep’s testicle and a bull’s penis in Frightening Feast.
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Meanwhile Jordan was locked in a metal cage with a number of snakes in Iron Maiden, in a full-circle moment to the start of the series when he had a meltdown during the Viper Vault.
Giovanna had to eat a host of nasties ITV/Shutterstock
Jordan was locked in a cage with snakes ITV/Shutterstock
Shane Richie narrowly missed out on being among the finalists after he became the last celebrity to be eliminated from the camp ahead of the series finale on Friday.
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This year’s I’m A Celebrity was the first in the show’s 18-year history to take place in Gwrych Castle in Wales, after it had to relocate from its usual home in the Australian jungle due to the pandemic.
Ant and Dec concluded the series by thanking Wales for playing host to the show, and telling fans to “stay safe”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Covid 'Immunity Certificates' Are 'Likely To Be Possible', Say Government Scientists

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Coronavirus “immunity certificates” could be issued to people after taking a vaccine or getting the illness, the government’s scientific advisers have said.
A paper published by a committee of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said certification was “likely to be possible” in a move that would exempt people from government-imposed restrictions to halt the spread of Covid-19.
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Certificates or “immunity passports” have been latched on by governments across the world as a way to reopen society, but UK ministers have aired mixed messages on whether they will be introduced.
The paper – titled ‘Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and the concept of an Immunity Certificate’ and published on Friday – was produced by the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group and considered by Sage on November 19.
It considered the “new context” created by the level of immunity among people who have been infected in early pandemic waves, and the rapid development of vaccines, and whether there was the prospect of “an exemption from current non-pharmaceutical interventions”.
The researchers had “high confidence” that people would become immune to the virus after catching it once or getting vaccinated, despite acknowledging that the length of immunity provided by either is currently not known.
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They said a “significant number of people who have been infected ... may have some ‘immunity’ that protects them during subsequent exposure”.
And the trials of coronavirus vaccines “suggest that a high degree of immunity to Covid-19 disease can be obtained, at least in the short-term”.
The experts concluded: “Some form of Covid-19 immunity certification is likely to be possible but further data and considerations are needed before a recommendation can be made.”
In May, health secretary Matt Hancock said the government was “looking at an immunity certificate — how people who have had the disease, have got the antibodies and therefore have the immunity, can show that and so get back, as much as possible, to normal life”.
But this week fellow cabinet minister Michael Gove denied that “immunity certificates” would be needed to enter pubs, despite another ministerial colleague saying this might be the case.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Will Michael Gove Use A Brexit Deal To Back Off Confrontation On Devolution?

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Hopes of a big breakthrough on a UK-EU trade deal took quite a knock tonight as Michel Barnier tweeted that “significant divergences” remain between the two sides. Still, frantic talks may continue this weekend, as both London and Brussels try one last (no, really last) big push to get an agreement. Time is indeed running out.
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Among the many reasons for the urgency is that the UK’s controversial Internal Market Bill returns to the Commons on Monday. In a move that suggested No.10 thought a deal would be done by then, MPs will in theory be voting to reinsert the most controversial bits of this legislation that were stripped out by the Lords.
The most headline-grabbing element was of course the provision to break the law, by reneging on the Northern Ireland protocol bit of the withdrawal agreement signed between Boris Johnson and the EU earlier this year. The idea of tearing up international treaties is what prompted a huge Lords defeat. It’s also what triggered warning shots from a certain Joseph Robinette Biden Jnr.
If a Brexit deal is done in coming days, the whole idea of the UK needing its “safety net” (copyright No.10) would be rendered not just academic but redundant.
But there’s another less-noticed element of the bill, in England at least, that provides yet another incentive for ministers to quietly bin their own legislation: its threat to devolution. The Internal Market Bill gets its very name from the government’s desire to codify trade rules between the four nations after the Brexit transition returns key powers to the UK.
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Michael Gove originally described the bill as providing a “power surge” to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because it handed back to them scores of powers held by Brussels. But the devolved administrations, particularly Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford, said it was in fact a “power grab” because it threatened their right to set local regulations in lots of areas such as food and agriculture standards.
Sturgeon and Drakeford were most angered because they had already started under the May administration a “common frameworks” mechanism to sort out internal trade post-Brexit. This is a kind of gentleman’s agreement, not requiring legislation, to allow a dispute resolution process where each nation could diverge from trade rules.
The Internal Market Bill cuts completely across these common frameworks, allowing any business in one part of the UK to undercut locally agreed rules. Even some Whitehall officials were baffled why the bill was drafted in the first place. A ministerial belief that it would somehow “strengthen the union” was apparently the key driver.
The problem is that the bill has backfired spectacularly and by effectively destroying the authority of devolved areas, the legislation has further fuelled independence demands. The reaction was so bad that even in Wales, where support for a breakaway is much lower than in Scotland, independence has suddenly become a hot topic.
Reflecting all this, one of the government’s biggest Lords defeats was on an amendment by Lord Hope, a former Supreme Court judge, that gutted the entire devolution segment from the bill. And I’m told that it was this defeat that finally brought home to Gove just what a mess the legislation was now in.
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Sources tell me that Gove has been looking at ways to either amend the devolution section of the bill, or ditch it altogether. If the whole bill is quietly left to die, he will have avoided gifting a powerful weapon to the independence movements. This matters because, despite Johnson’s official protestations that he won’t grant a second Scottish referendum, Gove’s unofficial task is to line up the No campaign arguments.
With polls consistently showing a lead for a Yes vote (a new poll this week put it at 56%), the stakes are high. The Johnson government also knows that Brexit has been a big driver for those who voted No last time. Many of the switchers think an independent Scotland within the EU is a better option than being part of Brexit Britain. And they could take the PM at his word with a ‘take back control’ move of their own.
If you strip out both the international law-breaking and the devolution-wrecking bits of this bill, there’s not much left that can’t be sorted in other regulations or legislation. The Lords have already done the government a favour by gutting it as efficiently as a Billingsgate fishmonger and now ministers may finally put it out of its misery.
The government may try to buy a bit more time to get its Brexit deal agreed, using “ping pong” between the Lords and Commons to keep the bill on life support. I understand the Lords are determined to dig in, and with the hard deadline of the need for a trade deal this month, their hand is a strong one. But once a deal is agreed, a brand new ‘UK-EU Trade Deal Bill’ will take precedence, and could take in any non-controversial dregs of the Internal Market Bill.
If that happens, Boris Johnson will have avoided an instant row with Joe Biden, but also lowered the temperature in relations with devolved nations. With many Scots already upset at Johnson’s blurting out that devolution was a “disaster” (and Jacob Rees-Mogg suggesting it could be torn up), he’s going to need all the help he can get to avoid being remembered as the PM who oversaw the break up of the United Kingdom.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Brexit Talks 'Paused' Amid 'Significant Divergences' On Key Issues

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EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned conditions for an agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal are “not met” as negotiations were put on “pause” because of “significant divergences” on key issues.
He said he and the UK’s Lord Frost have agreed the move while they brief their principals on the state of play of the negotiations.
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Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will then discuss the situation in a call on Saturday afternoon.
“After one week of intense negotiation in London, the two chief negotiators agreed today that the conditions for an agreement are not met, due to significant divergences on level playing field, governance and fisheries,” the statement said.
“On this basis, they agreed to pause the talks in order to brief their principals on the state of play of the negotiations.”
The latest delay to the negotiations comes after Downing Street said they had reached a “very difficult point” in the negotiations.
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With time running out for an agreement before the current Brexit transition period ends at the end of the month, UK sources have accused the EU of trying to introduce “new elements” into the negotiations at the 11th hour.
Meanwhile, France’s Europe minister, Clement Beaune, has publicly warned that his country could veto any agreement if it did not satisfy their conditions.
A No 10 spokesman said: “We are committed to working hard to try and reach an agreement with the EU and the talks are ongoing.
“There are still some issues to overcome. Time is in very short supply and we are at a very difficult point in the talks.
“What is certain is we will not be able to agree a deal that doesn’t respect our fundamental principles on sovereignty, fishing and control.
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“Our negotiating team is working extremely hard in order to bridge the gaps that remain.”
After months of circling round the same key issues, their had been hopes that this weekend would be the point when the two sides would finally make the moves needed to get an agreement over the line.
At the same time there had been an expectation that Johnson and von der Leyen would have to come together to resolve the most problematic issues.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Avonmouth Explosion: Boy, 16, Among Four Killed At Waste Water Treatment Site

The scene in Avomouth, Bristol, as fire crews, police and paramedics are responding to a large explosion at a warehouse where there have been multiple casualties. PA
A 16-year-old boy was among four people killed after an explosion at a waste water treatment site near Bristol, police have confirmed.
The four people who died on Thursday have been named by Avon and Somerset Police as Michael James, 64, Brian Vickery, 63, Raymond White, 57, and Luke Wheaton, 16.
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Emergency services were called to Wessex Water’s Bristol water recycling centre following reports of a large explosion involving one of the chemical tanks at the site.
The blast happened in a silo that held treated biosolids before they are recycled to land as an organic soil conditioner.
Investigators will speak to a fifth person who survived the blast and is now recovering from their injuries at home when it is appropriate, the force said.
This evening we are issuing an update following yesterday's incident in Avonmouth.
Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the families of those who died in this tragedy.
For more information: https://t.co/KMup4IYOYa pic.twitter.com/PqbjJCZ1mg — Avon and Somerset Police (@ASPolice) December 4, 2020
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Avon and Somerset Police said a cordon at the site was likely to remain in place “over the coming days” as an investigation into the cause of the incident was carried out.
This is being supported by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and a team of chemical and mechanical experts, the force said.
Superintendent Simon Brickwood said: “I’d like to extend my heartfelt sympathies to the families of those involved in yesterday’s tragic incident.
“An investigation has been launched into the causes of the explosion, with the support of partner agencies and the Health and Safety Executive. This is likely to be ongoing for some time and we will be keeping the victims’ families informed throughout.
“We appreciate the impact this incident has had on the local community and we thank those affected for their patience while our investigative work is carried out. The local neighbourhood policing team is available to address any concerns members of the public may have.
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“I’d like to pay tribute to those involved in the emergency response, who have been at the scene throughout the night under very difficult and challenging circumstances.”
Specially-trained officers are supporting the family of the four men who died in the incident.
Formal identification is yet to take place and post-mortem examinations are under way, a force spokesman said.
Giles Hyder, HSE’s head of operations in the South West, said: “We send our deepest condolences to the families of those who tragically died. It is important a joint investigation is carried out.
“We will provide specialist support to what is likely to be a complex investigation under the command of the police.”
On Thursday, Avon Fire and Rescue Service described the scene of the incident as “very challenging”.
Search and rescue dogs were used to identify casualties following the blast.
The explosion is not being treated as terror-related and there are not believed to be any ongoing public safety concerns.
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Colin Skellett, chief executive of Wessex Water, said: “We are all absolutely devastated by what has happened.
“Our hearts go out to the family, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives during the tragic event on Thursday.
“I know from the thoughts and comments I have received from so many, that this has affected the whole Wessex Water family.
“I know Avonmouth, I worked there for many years, and I know the people, some of whom have lost their lives during this terrible incident.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-04--Shukri Abdi: Death Of 12-Year-Old In River Was An Accident, Coroner Rules

On Friday, Joanne Kearsley, senior coroner for Manchester North, said Abdi got into the water on a warm evening with another girl, “following some encouragement”.
The other child was aware Abdi could not swim, and would therefore be reliant on her to stay afloat, she said. Both went to an area of the water that was deeper and at some point the other girl tried to swim underwater, the coroner continued.
Kearsley said: “At this point, on the balance of probabilities, a combination of deep water, together with Shukri panicking and the other child struggling to swim, meant that she probably pushed Shukri off. Shukri went under the water and drowned.”
The coroner said both Shukri and the other child, referred to as Child 1, had joined other youngsters in visiting the river on the warm, sunny evening.
Lawyers for Shukri’s family submitted the coroner should consider a verdict of unlawful killing from either an act of murder or gross negligence manslaughter.
The inquest heard evidence that while walking to the river, Child 1 had said to Shukri: “You’d better get in the water or I am going to kill you,” but it was said in a laughing and joking manner.
The coroner found the remark was not made with any malice or intent, but “very much in the context of a child who was keen to go swimming in the water and did not want to be the only one in the water”.
Kearsley went on: “The fact is, there is absolutely no evidence before the court that Child 1 had any intention to kill Shukri.
“At its very highest, the comment made by Child 1 which has been described as a ‘threat to kill’ is in my judgement, in the context spoken, a phrase used by an exuberant child in the company of her peers.
“To even suggest this case reaches anywhere near the standard required for a court to consider the most serious of offences was misplaced and most unhelpful.”
But the coroner did find that Child 1 had breached her duty of care to Shukri, in that a child of similar age and background should have recognised the risk of death to someone who needed her to stay afloat.
However her actions fell far short of a flagrant breach in which her actions could amount to gross negligence manslaughter, she added.
Kearsley said: “Child 1 was naive, she was foolish, she thought she could teach Shukri to swim, and this ill-considered act went badly wrong.
“She did not force Shukri into the water, she did not undertake any actions with the explicit intention of causing her harm.
“She was in unfamiliar water, the dangers of which I am satisfied were not fully appreciated.
“At its highest this was a serious error of judgement. I am sure the ramification of June 27, 2019, will be felt by many for a long time.”
Abdi’s family have previously accused Greater Manchester Police of racism, claiming that they were treated differently from other victims due to their race.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Twitter Users Have Some Mocking Title Ideas For Melania Trump's Reported Memoir

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First lady Melania Trump is reportedly in talks to write a memoir about her time in the White House.
And Twitter users, just as they have done previously with President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, and former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, have thrown out some mocking title suggestions.
The #TitlesForMelaniasMemoir hashtag trended nationally late Friday into Saturday.
Some people referenced Trump’s speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, in which she appeared to plagiarise parts of former first lady Michelle Obama’s address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
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Others used their suggestions to call out her husband, the president.
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I Never Promised You A Rose Garden #TitlesForMelaniasMemoir pic.twitter.com/YJfeJsp0Fa — Mister Race Bannon (@MrRaceBannon) December 4, 2020
I Don’t Care Why the Caged Child Cries #TitlesForMelaniasMemoir pic.twitter.com/VmTSCp44Xd — 😷 Tara Dublin #Biden46 😷 (@taradublinrocks) December 5, 2020
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Tess Daly Hails Husband Vernon Kay Her 'Winner' With I'm A Celebrity Final Tribute

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The TV presenter was defeated by Radio 1 DJ Jordan North and eventual Queen of the Castle Giovanna Fletcher during Friday’s live final.
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After the result was announced, the Strictly Come Dancing host shared a montage of photos from Vernon’s time on the ITV reality show, saying he had made her and their two daughters proud.
Vernon Kay and Tess Daly David M. Benett via Getty Images
Tess wrote: “LOVE YOU VERN. What a rollercoaster… he went in wanting to make us proud, and he made us beyond proud!!
“He’s a winner in our eyes and we’re just chuffed to have him home!”
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She said that the cashmere blanket she sent into camp to remind Vernon of home was “going straight in the wash”, however.
Tess added: “Huge congratulations to @mrsgifletcher and a massive thank YOU for posting, voting, phoning and cheering him on all the way… the support has been overwhelming, we are stunned and so grateful xxx.”
She later posted a video on her Instagram Story revealing that she had been shopping for all of Vernon’s favourite foods for his homecoming, after he lost over two stone during his stay in the castle.
Tess went shopping for all of Vernon's favourite foods Instagram
Tess previously admitted she’d been having sleepless nights during the series, as she worried about Vernon being cold and not eating enough.
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Giovanna Fletcher was crowned Queen of the Castle with Jordan North finishing runner-up and Vernon Kay placed third Kieron McCarron/ITV/Shutterstock
She told ITV’s Lorraine: “Oh my goodness, it feels like he has been away forever. I think about him every moment of every day and I watch him every night.
“Yeah, he is doing brilliantly and it’s lovely watching him but it’s nerve-wracking, it really is. I worry about him being cold, about him not eating.
“Honestly, I have barely slept. I don’t think I have slept more than five or six hours since he has been in there.”
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Three People Taken To Hospital After House Destroyed In Explosion

Three people have been taken to hospital after an explosion at a house in West Yorkshire.
The incident, which completely destroyed the family home, happened shortly after 7.30am on Saturday in Green Lane in the Illingworth area of Halifax.
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said three people were treated and taken to hospital, and all others have been accounted for.
The service said the explosion affected one building and six surrounding houses were evacuated as a safety precaution.
Investigations are ongoing into the cause of the explosion and crews are managing any “remaining pockets of fire” at the scene.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Bill Bailey Reveals The Reason He Has To Win Strictly Come Dancing

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Billy Bailey has said he needs to win this year’s Strictly Come Dancing as the bets his friends have put on him will be paying for their Christmases.
The comedian is one of six celebrities left in this year’s series of the BBC ballroom competition, and is currently the bookies’ favourite to win.
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While he is yet to top the leaderboard, Bill has impressed the judges with his improvement since the series started, and was even awarded his first 10 last month.
Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse BBC/Guy Levy
Bill, who is partnered with professional dancer Oti Mabuse, has said he now has “a lot of pressure on his shoulders” thanks to his friends placing money on him to win.
Speaking to The Sun, he said: “It is pressure. We’re getting to the sharp-end now so everyone’s putting in great dances. The competition is really hotting up.
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“There has been quite some betting going on. It’s mainly my friends. They keep texting me every week when we get through, saying, ‘Well done, Bill, keep going, we’re betting on you’.
“There will be a lot of people that I will be paying for Christmas if I make it all the way. I have a lot of pressure on my shoulders.”
Bill and Oti are the bookies' favourites to win the show BBC/Guy Levy
Last month, Bill admitted he had even surprised himself with his performances on Strictly.
He told The Guardian: “It’s extraordinary. People would assume I wouldn’t be able to even keep up with the training, but I’ve surprised myself.
“I do a routine, watch it back and think: what happened there? I can’t quite believe I’m able to do it.”
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This week, Bill and Oti will be hoping to win the judges over with an Argentine Tango to the theme from Phantom Of The Opera, as part of Saturday’s Musicals Week special.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--NHS Adviser Defends Mass Covid Testing Amid Fears Of ‘False Negatives’

The chief medical adviser to the NHS has defended the mass use of rapid Covid-19 testing amid concerns a high number of “false negatives” is falsely reassuring the public.
Government figures released earlier this week from Liverpool – where the mass rollout of the lateral flow tests was first piloted – showed they missed half of all cases and a third of those with a high viral load who were likely to be the most infectious.
It led to calls from some scientists for their use to be suspended amid fears some people who tested negative would go on to mix with others who may be more vulnerable because they wrongly believed they did not have the disease.
But Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser to NHS Test and Trace, said the tests had enabled them to find many cases of infection in people without Covid-19 symptoms that would otherwise have been missed.
“What we are doing here is case detection. We are not saying people do not have the disease if their test is negative,” she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“We are trying to say (to people who test positive) ‘You do have the disease and now we want you to go and isolate for ten days’. That is a whole different game-changer.”
With other local authorities looking to roll out the lateral flow tests, Hopkins stressed their use did not end the need for social distancing.
“We have been very clear that this test finds people we couldn’t otherwise find. We are also very clear that until we get a much lower prevalence of disease in this country that we shouldn’t be changing our behaviours.”
She was backed by Professor Calum Semple, of Liverpool University and a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory group for Emergencies (Sage), who said their deployment in the city meant 85% of the population were just a 15-minute walk from a testing centre.
“This means we have broken over a thousand transmission chains in those hotspot areas,” he told Today.
“We are increasing the safety of an activity that is going to happen anyway. In this case we are breaking transmission chains and that is really important.”
But Professor Jon Deeks, of Birmingham University, said the tests were being used in ways for which they were never intended with potentially dangerous consequences.
“They are a low-tech test, they can’t detect low levels of the virus. The World Health Organisation has said ‘Don’t use it for this purpose,’ the manufacturer said ‘Don’t use it for this purpose’,” he told Today.
“We can’t see why the government is progressing with using this test when it is missing so many people.
“They have been sold to people with the idea that if you are negative you will be able to go and visit people, you will be able to be clear that you haven’t got Covid, and that it really dangerous.”
Liverpool City Council defended the use of the tests on Friday, telling the Liverpool Echo the scheme had “always been a pilot, not only to identify where the virus is in the city, but also to learn about different testing technologies and different testing strategies.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Great British Bake Off's Laura Says She Felt 'Guilty' After Hermine's Controversial Elimination

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Great British Bake Off finalist Laura has admitted she felt “guilty” after Hermine was controversially sent home in the semi final.
Hermine’s elimination from the Channel 4 show sparked much conversation when it aired last month, as she had entered the semi final off the back of two Star Baker victories.
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Speaking about her fellow baker’s exit, Laura told Metro: “I think in my head I had a feeling I was staying, but I was also so ready to go home at that point. I hadn’t prepared for the final at all and I just felt very guilty for Hermine because I knew how much she wanted it.
“I knew that she’s a far better baker than I am and I don’t say that in a ‘poor me’ way, that’s just fact. I’m alright, but she was fantastic. I felt very guilty, even though it wasn’t my fault at the time.”
Laura has spoken out about Hermine's elimination Channel 4
At the time, many fans spoke of their disappointment that Hermine hadn’t made it to the final.
However, some had also been making disparaging comments towards Laura, who had suffered a number of baking disasters in previous weeks.
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Following the semi final airing on TV, Laura called for “kindness” from viewers on social media, writing on Twitter: “It’s OK to be sad your favourite person didn’t go through, but please remember it’s not my fault. I don’t make the decisions.”
Hermine missed out on a place in the final Channel 4
She has now revealed that former Bake Off winner Candice Brown helped support her through it.
“She definitely came to my defence on Twitter a lot and kept checking in with me, which I really appreciated,” Laura said.
Hermine also asked fans not to be “unkind in my name,” posting on Instagram: “I am all about love and kindness. Honour my time in the GBBO by showing love and kindness.
“Behind what looks like characters on your tele are real people. Love.”
Judge Paul Hollywood also defended Laura from trolls with a post on Instagram, calling their behaviour “disgusting”.
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“Each week stands on its own!! It never matters what any baker has done in previous weeks,” he wrote. “Even if you win 4/5 star bakers and then have a bad week you will be at risk of going sadly. It’s the rule that has been in place for 11 years!!”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Giovanna Fletcher's Son And Husband Have Sweetest Reaction To Her I'm A Celebrity Win

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The podcaster and author was crowned the first-ever Queen Of The Castle during the ITV reality show’s live final on Friday night.
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Tom, who is a member of McFly, filmed the moment he and their six-year-old son Buzz discovered Giovanna had beaten Radio 1 DJ Jordan North to win the series.
“Mummy! Mummy won!” Buzz could be heard saying, as the father and son celebrated.
Posting on his Instagram Story, Tom then shared another video where Buzz thanked people for voting for Giovanna.
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Tom also wrote on Twitter: “She’s always been our queen but now she has a crown to prove it! Now I just have to explain to the kids that this doesn’t mean we’re moving into the castle...”
The couple are also parents to four-year-old Buddy and Max, two.
Speaking after her win on I’m A Celebrity: The Daily Drop, Giovanna said she will be taking home some of the castle experience to her children.
Giovanna Fletcher won this year's I'm A Celebrity ITV
“I can already imagine that trials are happening at home. We’re going to be taking inspiration from them and making up games,” she said. “If they’ve not already. I can imagine snakes being made and all sorts.
“Tomorrow back into it all with a bang. Give it a few tantrums and I’ll be wishing to be back in castle life.”
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Asked of how she’ll celebrate her win, Giovanna added: “Soon as I’m home I’m just going to have loads of kisses and cuddles and immerse myself back into reality. And just normality, normal life. It feels weird because we don’t know what’s going on in the world.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Miley Cyrus Says Playing Hannah Montana Made Her Question Her Self-Worth

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Miley Cyrus is still undoing the effects of playing Hannah Montana.
The Midnight Sky singer starred in four seasons of the hit Disney channel show, in which she played a regular girl ― named Miley Stewart ― who transformed into her alter ego ― pop sensation Hannah Montana ― outside of her normal life.
Despite the show ending in 2011, Miley recently told Howard Stern that playing both characters did “a lot of psychological stuff” to her self-worth.
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“Some of my audience was so attached to a character, which wasn’t me,” the 28-year-old said on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.
Getty Images
“So, then that does a lot of psychological stuff, where it’s like, ‘Am I valuable as myself?’” Miley said.
“The whole show’s premise was that when I had my normal hair and looked like myself, no one gave a shit about me,” she explained. “And then when I got all dolled up and put a wig on, all of a sudden, I’m being chased by people chasing my tour bus.”
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“That’s a lot to put on a kid. To go, ’When you’re yourself, no one gives a fuck,’” the Wrecking Ball singer said.
“But then when they go and kind of groom you to look like something else ― something that you’re not ― and you’re really young, and it’s a lot of makeup and, you know, wigs and all this stuff, it does something psychologically.”
Miley said that she’s “not mad about it,” because she knows “how to lay down a wig like nobody else’s business.”
“I actually thought about this a lot this week. My hair is some sort of reflection for my sanity, my sexuality, my sobriety,” the Disney channel alum said.
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“The public really makes my hair, I guess, the kind of monitor of how I am doing,” she explained. “And it’s really not their fault that they associate my hair and my identity and my wellbeing so closely because I basically, we drilled that into their brains for eight years of a series.”
Miley recently opened up about her sobriety during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, revealing that one of the factors that went into her sobriety was her age at the time ― 27.
“Twenty-seven to me was a year that I really had to protect myself. That actually really made me want to get sober, was because we’ve lost so many icons at 27,” she said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--GPs Told To Get Ready To Start Vaccinating By December 14

GP surgeries have been told to be ready to start staffing Covid-19 vaccination centres within days.
In a letter sent out across England’s primary care networks, NHS England and NHS Improvement warned the “scale and complexity” of the immunisation programme would make it “one of the greatest challenges the NHS has ever faced”.
It was signed by Dr Nikita Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England and NHS Improvement, and Ed Waller, director of primary care at the same institutions.
“It is crucial we start to activate local vaccination services to allow priority patient cohorts to start accessing the vaccine,” it said.
The vaccination sites must be ready to administer 975 doses of the vaccine to priority patients within three-and-a-half days of delivery on December 14.
Speed is of the essence with the vaccine, as it is usually stored at -70C and will only remain stable at fridge temperatures of between 2C-8C for a limited period of time.
There are 975 doses in each of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine packs, which has posed a logistical problem of how they can be broken up and distributed to other key sites such as care homes.
The first to receive the vaccine in the centres will be those aged 80 and over, as long as their other risk factors “clinical or otherwise” have been taken into account.
NHS England and NHS Improvement said the number of vaccination sites in each clinical commissioning group (CCG) area will vary according to the number of residents it has who are over 80.
CCGs have been asked to consider inequalities and deprivation – some of the biggest Covid-19 risk factors – when choosing the sites for their vaccination centres.
Each centre will also be supplied with the “IT equipment necessary to deliver the programme and a fridge”, the letter said.
It added: “We will be writing to sites identified as part of wave 1 on Monday, setting out full details of vaccine supply dates, delivery of other consumables and equipment to the site, and the process for assuring readiness before delivery of vaccines.”
It said staff at the vaccination sites would be provided with training, and be “given full support to mobilise within the timescale”.
The staff at the first sites to open are due to get login details for the IT system set up to deliver the vaccination programme “as soon as possible”.
CCGs were told they must “offer all possible assistance” to the vaccine sites as the programme gets under way, including helping them with logistics and setting up clinical waste arrangements.
They were also warned that while urgent care must be provided by GPs even when the vaccine is being delivered, the vaccination programme must be their top priority.
It urged all primary care providers to work together to maximise uptake and minimise wastage.
The letter added that £150 million in funding is available to ensure there is the staff and resources for GPs to meet their usual obligations and deliver the vaccine programme.
It finished: “This is a hugely exciting moment for general practice and you who will be playing a key part in this important programme.”
Hospital hubs will be the first venues in England to start administering jabs, however, with vaccination ready to start from Tuesday, according to the chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson.
He told BBC Breakfast: “We are identifying in hospitals how many over-80s do we have, either currently receiving treatment inside the hospital or people who are coming in for outpatient appointments.”
NHS England said a list of hospitals to start providing the jab will be issued over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it has approved a solution to splitting vaccine packs and getting it into care homes.
Assemblers – a mixture of companies licensed to assemble packs and NHS hospitals with appropriate facilities – will break down the vaccines into smaller batches in special cold rooms at between 2C and 8C.
The process is extremely time sensitive, with assemblers having just 12 hours to thaw the vials, repack the medicines, label them and distribute them to the mobile teams delivering to care homes.
The MHRA said: “We have put in place arrangements to support delivery of the vaccine to top priority groups as safely and swiftly as possible.
“Regulatory approvals required to proceed with the splitting up of packs have been put in place.
“We are working with NHS and their assemblers to help support them to implement the processes and training they need to have in place to meet our conditions.”
Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, told the BBC on Friday that she estimated the vaccine would begin to be delivered to care homes “within the next two weeks”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Daniel Radcliffe Reveals Monkey Business Happening In NSFW Harry Potter Moment

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When it comes to Harry Potter secrets, Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t monkey around.
The actor’s appearance on the Hot Ones YouTube series on Thursday started out innocently enough, with the Boy Who Lived chowing down on wings while talking about his new movie, Escape from Pretoria. But it wasn’t long before the chamber of secrets was broken wide open.
Besides asking about food highlights and lowlights on Harry Potter, host Sean Evans pointed to a scene in The Chamber of Secrets where Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith) is teaching transfiguration in a classroom filled with animals, and asked Daniel what he remembered from that day.
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Daniel Radcliffe Roy Rochlin via Getty Images
Well, Daniel remembered it vividly. Though perhaps “remembered” is the wrong word. The story seemed scarred into his psyche, like the lightning bolt on Harry’s forehead.
There was a monkey masturbating on the set of Harry Potter.
Daniel considered holding back the story, but finally began: “You asked about such a specific thing in that McGonagall classroom. I definitely remember that there was a — there were a lot of animals, first of all, to address that part of the question. They must’ve had upwards of 60 there. I don’t imagine they were often all on set together, but definitely in that scene in the transfiguration classroom, there was a monkey of some kind in a cage that did just start jerking off relentlessly.”
He continued: “But generally speaking the animals were very well behaved. Although I think [Rupert Grint] maybe got peed on by a bat at one point as well, but yeah, I got away pretty cleanly after that.”
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Daniel’s monkey story almost seems too bananas to be true. But, sure enough, if you search online, there appears to be a moment that made it into the movie involving a monkey, or perhaps a mandrill ... going off script.
And that, everyone, is why you never, ever open the Chamber of Secrets ― especially if there’s a monkey in there.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--Even Ministers Don't Seem Keen On Forming Christmas Bubbles

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There will be a temporary easing of coronavirus rules over Christmas, allowing three households to mix in a bubble for five days.
Given that a highly infectious and often fatal disease continues to circulate within the population, at a time when the NHS is historically stretched to breaking point anyway, many have been left questioning the wisdom of this decision.
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The prospect of potentially infecting vulnerable relatives has seen some people opt not to reunite with family at all, preferring to stay as safe as possible until the coronavirus vaccine rollout begins.
With the controversy around relaxing lockdown at such a key time, the prime minister himself has been surprisingly reluctant to lead by example – staying tight-lipped about whether he will form a Christmas bubble with his own family.
The same question was put to his cabinet, and the responses were not exactly a ringing endorsement.
Boris Johnson
Prime minister Boris Johnson has urged families to 'think carefully' about the risks of coronavirus when forming a Christmas bubble... after encouraging families to form Christmas bubbles JAMIE LORRIMAN via Getty Images
Johnson has told families they must make a “personal judgement” about the risks of coronavirus to vulnerable loved ones when forming a Christmas bubble.
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The prime minister urged the public to “think carefully” over the festive period. So what will he be doing?
Asked whether Johnson planned to see any elderly relatives over the festive period, and whether he agreed with Whitty’s assessment that people should not hug or kiss their relatives, his official spokesperson claimed: “I’m not aware of the PM’s plans for Christmas but you’ve seen what the prime minister said on this earlier this week.
“We’ve always said that we wanted to allow families to meet up over Christmas but it remains important for people to be careful.”
The spokesperson added: “The PM has said on multiple occasions that Christmas is going to be different this year and we all have to be careful, particularly around elderly relatives.”
Stephen Barclay
Chief secretary to the Treasury Stephen Barclay in Downing Street PA
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As pressure mounted on the government to scrap the Christmas rules, chief secretary to the Treasury Steve Barclay tried to find a compromise.
Acknowledging that it had been a “very difficult” year for families, he told BBC Radio 4′s Today Programme on December 15: “I won’t see my parents over Christmas, but I will see my parents-in-law, and those are the decisions many families will take.”
He didn’t elaborate on why he had chosen not to see his parents.
“We’ve got to trust the British people to act responsibly and do the minimum that is possible for them in their family situation,” he added.
Matt Hancock
PA
No comment. Health secretary Matt Hancock wouldn’t tell us whether he will take advantage of the “Christmas bubble” rule to see his family, though he has agreed to join Piers Morgan in being vaccinated against Covid-19 live on Good Morning Britain.
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Alok Sharma
PA
Alok Sharma was left somewhat red-faced after boasting that the UK had “led humanity’s charge against this disease” on the day it was announced that the vaccine had been approved by the MHRA.
Yes, that’s the vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, working with German biotech company BioNTech.
Sharma did not respond to queries about how he intended to spend Christmas.
Rishi Sunak
Chancellor Rishi Sunak at the Imperial Clinic Research Facility at Hammersmith Hospital WPA Pool via Getty Images
Chancellor Rishi Sunak remained tight-lipped over his Christmas plans, though he was photographed on the day the national lockdown was lifted in London toy store Hamleys propping up the economy buying presents for his children so it’s fair to say he’ll at least be seeing them.
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Great to be back in the shops today picking up presents for m̷y̷s̷e̷l̷f̷ the kids.
The vaccine news is a positive step on our journey to defeat COVID. But the sector faces a tough winter. That’s why we’ve extended furlough alongside business rates holidays & grants #PlanForJobs pic.twitter.com/bIo54EK5pT — Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) December 2, 2020
Dominic Raab
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab will be having a family Christmas but insists: 'We are going to follow the rules and quite rightly so.' PA
Asked by Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday how he would be spending Christmas, foreign secretary Dominic Raab replied: “With my folks and I hope my sister. We are going to follow the rules and quite rightly so.”
Over on Times Radio, presenter Tom Newton Dunn asked: “Does following the rules means you’re advising your boys not to hug their grandparents?”
Raab said: “Yeah, I’m gonna say to them not to do it because we don’t want to spread the virus and they they’ve been pretty good about it. I mean, they say that – they’re six and eight. I wouldn’t say we have total control of them in the house, but, but they do understand them.
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“And we’re certainly going to be saying that to them. We want them to respect the rules. And of course, I don’t want to put my mother or my stepfather at any risk.”
Grant Shapps
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps NurPhoto via Getty Images
Transport secretary Grant Shapps is setting out a plan to ensure sports fans travel safely to reopened stadiums.
Up to 2,000 fans are permitted to attend fixtures in tier 2 in England following the end of the national lockdown on Wednesday.
But he did not respond to queries about how many people he would permit to attend his Christmas festivities.
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Alister Jack
Secretary of state for Scotland Alister Jack, Scottish Conservative Party MP for Dumfries and Galloway NurPhoto via Getty Images
A spokesperson for Scottish secretary Alister Jack did not comment directly on his specific Christmas “bubble” plans, but said: “Mr Jack will be spending Christmas at home in Scotland with his wife and a small number of family members, in line with Scottish government rules.
“This will include their granddaughter, Tiggy, who will be celebrating her first Christmas.”
Unless Jack lives with his “small number of family members”, including his young granddaughter, this seems like a rare vote for the bubble.
Thérèse Coffey
Britain's Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey Simon Dawson / Reuters
A spokesperson for the work and pensions secretary said Thérèse Coffey would be spending time with her “immediate family”.
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As well as working, she is planning on enjoying some country and coastal walks, he added.
Asked whether Coffey’s “immediate family” would include members of other households, her office did not reply. We’re putting her down as a “maybe”.
No reply
The following ministers did not reply when we asked about their plans:
Home secretary Priti Patel
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove
Justice secretary Robert Buckland
Defence secretary Ben Wallace
International trade secretary Liz Truss
Education secretary Gavin Williamson
Environment, food and rural affairs secretary George Eustice
Communities secretary Robert Jenrick
Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis
Welsh secretary Simon Hart
House of Lords leader Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden
Tory party co-chair Amanda Milling
Other leaders
'I don't want to put them at risk when a vaccine is so close.' PA
Nicola Sturgeon
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has point blank stated that she will not have an “indoor Christmas dinner” with her parents this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The stoic Scot told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Normally, Christmas, my husband and I would have both our families here in our own home. We will not be doing that this year.
“I’ve not seen my parents since July and I would dearly love to see them today and at Christmas, but I don’t want to put them at risk when a vaccine is so close.
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“We might go and have a family walk somewhere, but the idea [...] of an indoors Christmas dinner is something we will not do this year.”
Mark Drakeford
Welsh First minister Mark Drakeford PA
Wales first minister Mark Drakeford did not share his Christmas plans with HuffPost UK.
But on Friday he announced that Wales would loosen the plans even further, allowing a single person, single parent or someone with caring responsibilities to tack onto the existing three-household limit.
Arlene Foster
Northern Ireland first Minister Arlene Foster Niall Carson - PA Images via Getty Images
Northern Ireland first minister Arlene Foster has described the news of the incoming coronavirus vaccine as an “early Christmas present”, but did not share her bubbling plans with HuffPost UK.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-12-05--You've Heard Of The Hostile Environment. But Did You Know About The Resistance?

On Tuesday the UK’s immigration rules became even tougher. Despite charities describing the move as “vicious”, rough sleeping is now grounds for refusal or cancellation of permission to be in the UK – meaning homelessness itself could now result in deportation.
The chartered deportation flight to Jamaica on Wednesday also brought the Home Office to the top of the news agenda, with MPs, celebrities and Windrush campaigners urging the government to cancel the flight. Thirteen of the original 50 people due to be forcibly removed to Jamaica were on the flight on December 2.
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But as the government intensifies the hostile environment, immigration laws and the rhetoric around undocumented migrants, groups opposing detention and deportation have stepped up their response – and it’s not just charities or “activist lawyers” who are doing so.
Minnie Rahman, public affairs and campaigns manager for the Joint Council of the Welfare of Immigrants told HuffPost UK: ″The hostile environment has been proven time and time again to cause racial discrimination, break equalities law and push people into destitution and exploitation, yet the government remains committed to it.
“Councils have been left with no other option but to announce non-compliance with this dangerous set of policies and other unfair immigration rules. Now, we must keep the pressure up and urge many more councils, charities and businesses to end their cooperation with the Home Office’s hostile environment.
“Everyone should be able to access the public safety net and services regardless of their immigration status.”
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Here are the people vocally opposing the government’s hostile environment policies – and the organisations and corporations who uphold them.
Perhaps surprisingly, local government
As immigration rules changed on Tuesday, one London council made it clear that the new Home Office policies were not welcome.
Haringey councillor Emina Ibrahim said: “Many people sleeping rough have been exploited and faced unbelievable personal challenges.
“As a council we work tirelessly to help those sleeping rough get off the streets and to find safety and stability. We will not be collaborating with the Home Office on this rule.”
We won't collaborate with Home Office on today’s immigration rule change. Rough sleeping is now grounds for refusal of permission to stay for some non-UK nationals. We oppose this, believe it is discriminatory, & will do all in our power to protect the most vulnerable #Haringey — Haringey (@haringeycouncil) December 1, 2020
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With the new rules only implemented on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Haringey Council said it was unclear what new duties the council would have in terms of reporting to the Home Office, but explained that it would continue to preserve its responsibilities around “safeguarding and equalities”, including for those sleeping rough.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “For a small minority of rough sleepers who refuse government and local authority support and repeatedly engage in persistent anti-social behaviour, the new immigration rules mean they could lose their right to be in the UK.” But the Home Office insists it wouldn’t actually deport anyone for this reason, even though there are provisions for the home secretary to order someone to be deported “for the public good” without having broken the law.
Haringey isn’t the only local authority that has openly opposed hostile environment policies. In 2019, encouraged by Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network (LRMN), Lewisham and Southwark councils removed Home Office staff embedded within the local authority amid fears they were preventing vulnerable people from accessing services.
As The Guardian reported at the time, embedded officials sit in on meetings between council workers and vulnerable migrant families – ensuring that the Home Office knows about every person who has registered for emergency help. They have previously been accused of encouraging undocumented migrants to leave the UK voluntarily and of providing problematic advice that could damage legitimate applications to remain in the country.
Despite some successes for the LRMN, campaigners with the group say the overall situation is the worst it has been in 10 years.
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Rosario Guimba-Stewart, CEO of LRMN, told HuffPost UK: “The Covid-19 crisis has stripped away the last shreds of support for so many vulnerable people. To see the government’s lack of compassion in the last few weeks, as they introduced brutal immigration rules that ignore the human cost, is alarming.”
But the desperate situation is only strengthening the resolve of campaigners and case workers to tear down the policies they say worsen the problems faced by vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers.
Hera Lorandos, campaigns and communications officer for LRMN, said: “Together, we have resisted many hostile environment policies and plan to continue to do so.
“We’ve campaigned to remove Home Office staff embedded in local councils, introduce free school meals to all regardless of immigration status, scrap NHS charging in local hospitals and much more.
“Hostile environment policies harm our local communities. We are doing everything possible to protect our communities.”
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Homelessness services
Two homeless men sleeping under a makeshift tent with festive decorations in Oxford, 2019. Sam Mellish via Getty Images
In 2019 Oxford City Council passed a motion to declare itself an anti-racist city, part of which demanded tackling hostile environment policies.
Councillor Shaista Aziz, who put together the motion, works directly with homeless people in Oxford – largely women and children, many of whom are living with an insecure immigration status.
She said: “The hostile environment disproportionately impacts Black people and people of colour, and its impact is being felt by rough sleepers.
“The motion being passed basically means that across our council services, the council has pledged not to report anyone with insecure immigration status to the authorities when they come forward for any form of assistance.
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“We’ve been explicitly clear that in any area of service, for example housing, an individual will not be reported to the authorities.”
Aziz said she had witnessed “incredibly desperate” situations in the course of her work, with many extremely vulnerable people – particularly single mothers with young children – terrified that simply asking for help could result in them being targeted my immigration enforcement.
This situation has been worsened by Covid-19, with research from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) showing that migrants were avoiding seeking healthcare due to fears of hostile environment policies.
Oxford councillors co-signed a JCWI letter to home secretary Priti Patel raising their concerns about this, writing: “We are proud that hostile environment policies have no place in Oxford.”
They continued: “We have written to the Home Office and our hospital trusts, asking them to take the steps needed to help break down the barriers which prevent some of our residents from seeking help, accessing public services and being safe.”
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Under hostile environment policies, councils cannot legally extend the same support to people with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) as they would to a legal resident. But under the government’s “Everyone In” scheme at the start of the pandemic, all rough sleepers – including those classed as NRPF – were supposed to be offered accommodation.
While this move was a welcome response to the threat of Covid-19, Aziz and other campaigners are calling on the government to remove NRPF completely to allow support to reach the most vulnerable.
Aziz said: “I think it’s only right and proper that as a city, though we have to work within the law, we are saying that we are here to help people and not to check their immigration status.
“NRPF absolutely has to go if we are to keep people alive and safe, not just through a pandemic but generally as well.”
Medical workers
Medical staff protesting against the NHS' upfront charging policies, introduced as part of the hostile environment in 2017. Medact
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Upfront charging for people with uncertain immigration status who seek NHS care has been in force since 2017, specifically as part of the Home Office’s hostile environment.
Despite reports from bodies such as the British Medical Association warning about the devastating impact of the policy, it has remained in force – with medical professionals bound by law to charge individuals without the correct immigration status.
A number of groups under the umbrella Patients Not Passports campaign have spoken out against the policy, describing it as “unworkable” and highlighting the lack of evidence that it saves the NHS any money – instead potentially putting increased pressure on emergency services as a result of delayed treatment.
James Skinner, a campaigner for Medact, worked as a nurse for the NHS until 2018, when he says it became clear hostile environment policies were stopping him doing the work he had set out to do.
He said: “A lot of people don’t know about charging policies at all, as with most of the hostile environment it kind of operates in the shadows but really impacts the most marginalised groups.
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“As we went around speaking to healthcare workers and community groups about what the policies are we found that people were obviously outraged and shocked, and the energy against it was huge.
“Very quickly we set up groups around the country, many of which focus on their own NHS trust trying to push the trust to come out against the charging policy.
“We believe that NHS trusts ultimately have a responsibility to their patients and to their staff to be working for a policy that is not forcing staff to break their code of medical ethics or to do things they disagree with.”
Airline staff
Fifteen activists were arrested in March 2017 after blocking a chartered deportation flight. Kristian Buus via Getty Images
As seen in recent days with the much-criticised chartered deportation flight to Jamaica, resistance to Home Office policies exists right up to the moment of removal from the UK.
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While activists such as the Stansted 15, who were convicted of terror-related charges after blocking a chartered flight in March 2017, have vocally opposed deportations, airline staff themselves have also expressed their concerns with facilitating flights.
In 2019 HuffPost UK revealed that airline workers with a number of companies were on the verge of refusing to take part in the “abhorrent and dysfunctional” practice of deporting immigrants on the Home Office’s behalf.
Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM) have been instrumental in the campaign to urge airlines to stop facilitating deportations, with Virgin Airlines stating in 2018 that it would stop doing so after LGSM pointed out that the company’s sponsorship of London Pride conflicted with its work with the Home Office.
While the pandemic has complicated the situation for airline workers, LGSM say their campaign to stop airlines from facilitating deportations continues.
LGSM spokesperson Sam Bjorn told HuffPost UK: “I think Black Lives Matter has been huge in raising people’s awareness generally of racism in the UK, of racist state violence, and I’m really, really glad to see that the explicit connection was made between the immigration system and state violence against Black people.”
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They added: “We are in the early stages of working out a way to produce a charter that can be shared with airlines and they could be asked to sign, which would state that they won’t be complicit in deportations going forward.”
Elsewhere
Just as hostile environment policies are interwoven with many different areas of public support, so are forms of resistance.
As the JCWI pointed out, many organisations and even individuals such as landlords may not want report people to immigration enforcement but are required to do so by law under policies such as right-to-rent checks.
Some groups of campaigners have successfully campaigned for policy changes. Against Borders for Children, for example, fought for two years to oppose nationality and country-of-birth data collection in schools across England – a battle that was won in June 2018.
Grassroots organisations such as the Anti Raids Network also work to challenge immigration raids in homes and workplaces – both physically obstructing raids and mobilising in other practical ways such as giving out legal information in different languages.
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As Bjorn explains, the many faces of the hostile environment policies mean that the resistance against them continues to be fought on many fronts.
They said: “Because the hostile environment is so embedded in so many different institutions, so many parts of society, the presence of the border regime is everywhere.