thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--5 Fibs You Were Told This Week

5 Fibs You Were Told This Week

LOADING ERROR LOADING
This week HuffPost UK presents its first instalment of a regular feature highlighting five fibs, mistruths or sometimes great big whopping lies that you the public have been told over the last seven days.
As the news has been absolutely dominated by the A-level catastrofuck, we thought it only apt to begin with...
Advertisement
1) Education secretary Gavin Williamson
But there was a problem – while transcribing an actual interview with him our brains melted and so this article has actually been compiled by the same grading algorithm that marked the A-levelworncdsk dxwnfk$&)oewfw vfqbijp@@@bveveo.
Here are the offending quotes: “When it became apparent there were unfairnesses in the system, is the right thing to act.”
And...
“If there is an unfairness there is nothing that I will do to in order to address that unfairness.”
Now because we don’t want to be accused of misleading you with you catchy headline, here’s an actual fib from Williamson.
The education secretary said repeatedly during the week that he only became aware of the fiasco over the weekend, saying: “As we looked in greater detail over Saturday and Sunday, it became evident that further action needed to be taken.”
Advertisement
ASSOCIATED PRESS
But this is not totally true – last month the Education Select Committee was warning that the proposed method of using an algorithm to calculate student grades could cause “significant problems” and “might hurt the disadvantaged”.
And on Thursday, The Times revealed a former director-general at the Department for Education, Sir Jon Coles, actually wrote to Williams and told him the algorithm would only be 75% accurate and hundred of thousands of students would get the wrong grades.
2) Nick Gibb
Presumably slightly jealous that Williamson was grabbing all the headlines, schools minister Nick Gibb got in on the act with an almost impressive bout of fibbing on Thursday.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast about Sir John Cole's intervention, Gibb said: "He felt the model as devised would disadvantage young people from poorer families.
Advertisement
"We discussed that in great detail and I was reassured that it would not – and, in fact, it turned out it that did not."
What makes this particularly brazen is the fact, TV, radio, internet and social media headlines had been blaring all week about how disadvantaged young people from poorer people had fared worse under the grading shambles.
An analysis of results by Ofqual itself suggests a higher proportion of poorer pupils – 10.4% – were knocked below a C grade than richer pupils – on 8.3% – after teacher assessed grades were moderated.
3) Test and Trace
Our second fib relates to the weekly NHS Test and Trace data and has a slightly evergreen angle to it that’s well worth knowing.
Every week the service, run by Tory peer Dido Harding and soon to be amalgamated into Matt Hancock’s new National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP), published the number of people traced by the system.
Advertisement
Jonathan Brady - PA Images via Getty Images
This week just 71.3% of identified contacts of new Covid-19 cases have been in the latest week, the lowest number since the service began.
But it gets worse – only 78.8% of all those who tested positive were contacted, meaning 681 people and all the people they’ve been in close contact with were never even in the system to begin with.
So each week when the government announces the figures, it’s worth a quick look here to see the full report and get the whole picture.
4) The Department for Health and Social Care
This week during research for an article on NHS privatisation, the DHSC sent HuffPost UK a statement that contained the following: “Collaboration with public and private sector partners has been an important part of the pandemic response and helped us rapidly build the largest diagnostic testing network in British history.”
Advertisement
Impressive stuff indeed. British history is long, illustrious and filled with building very large things.
Only it’s not very impressive for the simple fact it doesn’t work. Just last week, NHS Providers said it is not “fit for purpose, let alone world class” like a certain Boris Johnson told us all back in March.
5) Donald Trump
Let’s face it, President Trump is going to be a regular presence in these parts and he lies often enough to take up this entire feature.
But in the interests of variety, we’ll just pick the most mind-blowing and this week’s entry is...
Trump on Qanon: I heard these are people who love our country pic.twitter.com/PphJQHJ0Am — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) August 19, 2020
Yes, that’s right – the president of the United States declined to condemn QAnon, a conspiracy theory so absolutely insane that the FBI has designated it a domestic terror threat.
Advertisement
Instead, he said: ”I heard these are people who love our country.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--Game Of Thrones' Maisie Williams Shares Her Thoughts On The Controversial Finale

HuffPost is part of Verizon Media .
We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through @ @ @ @ @ similar technologies , to display personalised ads and content , for ad and content measurement @ @ @ @ @ development .
Your personal data that may be used • Information about your device and @ @ @ @ @ IP address • Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps Find @ @ @ @ @ use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy .
To enable Verizon Media @ @ @ @ @ your personal data select ' I agree ' , or select 'Manage settings ' for @ @ @ @ @ your choices .
You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy @ @

The Game Of Thrones finale was a controversial one among fans and, indeed, certain cast members, but one person who was definitely happy with the outcome of the last episode was Maisie Williams.
The actor played Arya Stark in all eight series of the fantasy drama, and when it came to an end last year, the adventurous character was seen bidding farewell to Westeros to explore what lay beyond the world she knew.
Advertisement
And although many have criticised certain aspects of the award-winning show’s epic finale, Maisie has said she “couldn’t be happier” with how things turned out for Arya.
“We had such a blast. We loved it. I was so happy with my ending and it was just a beautiful end to a decade of my life,” she told The Tonight Show. “I couldn’t be happier with it, honestly.”
Maisie Williams Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
Mais added that she’s now constantly asked for her reaction to the finale, as reception to the last series was so mixed.
Advertisement
“Now people just ask me, ‘What did you think of the final season?’” she revealed, “because there is a lot of speculation over the success of it.”
Maisie in character as Arya Stark HBO
Charles said: “I know that the finale satisfied a lot of people. It also disappointed a lot of people, and I’m afraid I am in the latter camp.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--What Keeping Chickens Is Really Like, As Demand Skyrockets During Lockdown

Supplied Requests for pet chickens surged under lockdown
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Cuddling on the sofa with cats and dogs may be commonplace, but under lockdown, many also sought happiness from chickens.
Advertisement
Fresh Start for Hens, a chicken rehoming charity, received 52,000 requests for pet chickens from bored home-dwellers since the lockdown began in March.
The charity receives batches of chickens from farmers who no longer require them when they’re too old to lay eggs. Last year, they rehomed 47,000 senior chickens – it looks like that figure is likely to be more than double in 2020.
Why the surge in demand? “People were stuck at home, they were bored, there was a lack of eggs in the shops – there are so many reasons,” says operations director, Jaki Hann. “Many people may have talked about getting hens for years and now, suddenly, they’re furloughed so it’s an ideal opportunity to start a new garden project.”
Advertisement
It’s been a busy few months for Hann, and others at the charity. The main challenge has been working out ways to deliver chickens to people’s back gardens, amid the pandemic, she says. “We developed a ‘cluck and collect service’ so people could pick up their chickens if they were on the way to the supermarket. And we also did home deliveries when it was safe to do so.”
Hann says “more prestigious coops” to house chickens have also experienced an increase in demand. One company called Omlet, which she recommends, now has four to six-month waiting lists as demand has overtaken supply.
Posh coops aren’t necessary, though, and there are other organisations offering chickens for rehoming if you’re hankering for a pandemic companion, reminds Hann. So check for local chicken rehoming projects or contact local farmers.
picture alliance via Getty Images Chickens are highly sociable animals, and interact well with humans and other animals
So, what’s it actually like having chickens?
Owners who’ve had pet chickens for years tell us they’re joyous pets. “I have kept hens [female chickens] for almost 15 years,” says Anne Stabler, a PR consultant who got her chickens from the British Hen Welfare Trust.
“They make wonderful pets and produce fabulous eggs with rich deep yellow-orangey yolks. I could watch the hens for hours!”
Advertisement
Stabler also says they’re “very entertaining and sociable”, which was great during lockdown. They’ll follow you around the garden, she says. “They also love titbits, and they go wild for grapes and sweetcorn!”
Supplied Anne with her pet chicken
Vet Dr Sean McCormack, from London, also loves keeping chickens as pets. “I have some clucky ladies I rehomed from a friend,” he says.
McCormack agrees they’re entertaining, and reckons chicken ownership is the next new trend – overtaking hamsters, guinea pigs and budgies in the popularity stakes.
Each of his hens has a different personality, he says. “Christina Egg-uilera is the friendly, chilled-out one. Shelly Rowland likes to sit on your lap. Nelly Frittata is feisty and aloof, whereas Hennifer Lopez is flighty and as independent as they come. Margaret Hatcher has a real mean streak!”
Advertisement
Supplied Dr Sean with the eggs laid by his birds
One word of warning from McCormack, though, who lost a chicken to a fox out brazenly by daylight: make sure your chickens are protected from prey by locking them securely at night.
“Predator-proof housing – homemade or purchased – needs to be covered and prevent animals from digging under the perimeter fencing,” he says.
Supplied Sean with one of his chickens
Lastly, these bright and cheerful animals are innately social, so a minimum of three is advised to reduce stress levels and give them the best chance in life.
Advertisement
Many rehomed chickens are former battery hens. The EU has improved standards for battery hens, but still, their quality of life is low, with little opportunities for movement and natural light.
So remember that when they arrive in your back garden – it’s the beginning of a fantastic new chapter for them, treat them like the princesses they are!
Fancy it? Things you should know before rehoming a hen:
The British Hen Welfare Trust has lots of information on its website about how to choose your coop, clean it out, what to feed chickens, as well as their general routine. But before you get started, here are some things to know.
1. The minimum number of hens you can reserve is three because hens are sociable and like to be part of a flock. The maximum number of hens you can adopt is 20, and they must all stay together with you.
2. You can convert a regular shed or outbuilding for them to live, build your own coop, or buy a purpose-built hen house. Design, prices, quality and sizes vary hugely so do some research.
Advertisement
3. You can’t guarantee the future egg-laying capability of any individual hen, but most will carry on laying provided you feed them with a high quality feed and don’t give them too many treats.
4. Foxes are attracted by hens; they will visit night or day and kill your birds if they are not secure. They jump and climb like cats, so a standard 6′ or 7′ perimeter garden fence alone is not guaranteed to keep them out.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--Twitter Users Aghast Over Trump's Positive QAnon Comments: 'This Is Madness'

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Commentators were left aghast on Wednesday after Donald Trump said he appreciates his support from followers of QAnon, a fringe-right conspiracy theory linked to acts of violence.
“I don’t know much about the movement, other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he told a reporter when asked about QAnon at a White House press briefing. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity.”
Advertisement
“I’ve heard these are people that love our country,” he added.
When the reporter pointed out that followers of the convoluted theory believe that Trump is secretly saving the world from a satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals, Trump said, “I haven’t heard that. But is that supposed to be a bad thing? ... If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it.”
QAnon has fostered an online extremist movement that has been identified by the FBI as a potential domestic terrorism threat. Among other baseless conspiracy theories peddled by its followers, some claim that Trump is taking down a secret global band of “deep state” Hollywood elites and politicians who worship Satan and traffic children for sex. The group has been linked to kidnappings, murder and other violent crimes.
Earlier Wednesday, Facebook announced it had removed and restricted thousands of pages, groups, accounts and ads linked to QAnon and offline anarchist and militia groups in an effort to stifle their spread.
The president’s blasé praise for the conspiracy’s supporters and failure to condemn them stunned journalists and commentators online, many of whom shared resources about the group’s dangerous actions and beliefs.
Advertisement
This QAnon answer is a fucking disgrace. It's a death cult. The FBI identified QAnon as a violent domestic terrorism threat and Trump is pretending not to know what it is while absolutely encouraging them and incentivizing more insane behavior. — Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) August 19, 2020
QAnon groups are going nuts. pic.twitter.com/BHM7KYXWjk — Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) August 19, 2020
FBI: The deranged QAnon conspiracy theory poses a potential domestic terrorism threat
Combating Terrorism Center at West Point: it's a public security threat & potential domestic terror threat
Trump: "these are people that love our country." — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 19, 2020
“I don’t know much, except that they like me very much, which I appreciate,” says Trump on:
QAnon — a conspiracy group the FBI has said is a potential domestic terrorist threat.
This is madness...pic.twitter.com/qfe3jFm45a — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) August 19, 2020
Want to know more about what QAnon is, how it got so prominent so fast, and how it captured some of your family members?
Here’s my best stab at what it’s become today, in podcast form, with @trymainelee.https://t.co/O8TjSzfifj — Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 19, 2020
Advertisement
Why Trump's comments about QAnon are dangerous. https://t.co/74jZN2VAnp — Philip Bump (@pbump) August 19, 2020
Worth noting that what @realDonaldTrump said today about QAnon — “I don't know anything about it other than they do supposedly like me” — is exactly what he says about white supremacists who endorse him. — Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) August 19, 2020
People. Trump doesn’t understand QAnon. He’s a narcissist who can’t retain knowledge and is perpetually incurious.
All he knows is that they worship him and that’s more than enough to earn the full-endorsement of a broken president for a fascist, terrorist movement. — Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) August 19, 2020
Just before the 2020 Republican National Convention next week, President Donald Trump is publicly embracing the dangerous fringe QAnon movement and singing their praises.
Will this be in the @GOP platform? Will Republicans condemn this group the FBI has called a domestic threat? https://t.co/q5BmRCsKtj — Josh Campbell (@joshscampbell) August 19, 2020
Trump refuses to denounce one of the most toxic and dangerous conspiracies in America. He embraces QAnon's support for him. He was told part of their belief system and he didn't reject it. This is the leader of the Republican Party. — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 19, 2020
Advertisement
going to revise my timeline here and say QAnon will be GOP orthodoxy next year if Biden wins and takes office. https://t.co/h8vdmFPatA — b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 19, 2020
Trump embraced QAnon and didn't disavow them. The FBI says its now a domestic terror threat and the insane and dangerous conspiracy theory might radicalize individuals and groups ahead of the 2020 election. How is he the law and order President, Republicans? The GOP is lost. — Wajahat "Wears a Mask Because of a Pandemic" Ali (@WajahatAli) August 19, 2020
This is going to be a huge validation for QAnon believers. I wish the reporter had also mentioned the results of QAnon belief: the child kidnappings, the harassment and death threats, the murders, the terrorism, the estranged families. https://t.co/9UZnmMDRFN — Will Sommer (@willsommer) August 19, 2020
President Trump has trafficked in conspiracy theories since the beginning of his political career (i.e. birtherism) and continues to do so regularly. Now, he's not denouncing QAnon.
That is unprecedented, breaking norms, untraditional ... but not surprising. — Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 19, 2020
I am watching Trump talk about Qanon and how great it is that they love him, and all I can think of right now is that @brithume thinks that the problem is Joe Biden‘s mental condition. — Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) August 19, 2020
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--Cheeky Cat Returns Home With Hilarious Note From Toby Carvery Around Its Neck

LOADING ERROR LOADING
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Any cat owner knows there’s a high chance their cat is being fed by at least five other households in the neighbourhood – that’s just how the cookie crumbles.
Advertisement
But most of the time the cats don’t get caught out.
One exception to the rule is Cole Clark’s long-haired moggy, Tula, who went begging for food at their local Toby Carvery restaurant in Abbey Meads, Swindon – repeatedly.
The 11-year-old Siberian cat arrived home at the weekend with a paper collar attached. “She’d come into the lounge and I could see something on her neck,” Clark, who is a primary school teacher, tells HuffPost UK.
She unravelled the paper collar which revealed a note, dated August 16.
“Does this cat have a home?” the note read, while on the back it said: “Always at Toby Carvery.” Busted.
Advertisement
Clark posted a photo of the note with her greedy moggy in the background on the Abbey Meads Community Facebook Group, writing: “I can imagine she’s been trying for the sympathy vote in the hope of getting some meat!”
She added: “She has a lovely home and spends every night with us but thank you Toby customers / workers for looking out for her!”
The 41-year-old said she couldn’t stop laughing when she found the note.
She went down to the restaurant to let them know Tula wasn’t homeless and they told her how she spent hours each day meowing at staff and customers for food until they shared some with her.
And to top it all off, she’d been going there since lockdown lifted.
After letting the restaurant know that Tula did in fact have an owner and a home, Clark left. “I walked out of the Toby and there she was, sat by the patio tables,” she laughs.
Clark says her friendly feline is quite partial to a bit of ham or chicken. “If you’re in the kitchen and open the fridge, she’ll meow and try to paw you in the hope it’ll be ham,” she says.
Advertisement
Cheese, on the other hand, is not as well received. “She’s a meat-lover, bless her,” Clark adds.
It’s not Tula’s first rodeo either. The mischievous moggy used to visit the local old people’s home, Deadline News reported, and the residents would give her meat paste from their sandwiches.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--The Crown Series 4 Teaser Offers First Look At Princess Diana And Margaret Thatcher

A new teaser for the upcoming fourth series of The Crown has trailed the arrivals of both Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher.
The new series of the royal Netflix drama picks up towards the end of the 1970s, with Olivia Colman returning for a second series in the role of Queen Elizabeth II.
Advertisement
“Something as important as the monarchy simply can not be allowed to fail,” she says in a voiceover, as cryptic footage from the series plays.
Fans are also treated to a first glimpse of Gillian Anderson in character as former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, as well as a sneak peek at newcomer Emma Corrin as Lady Diana Spencer, in her iconic wedding dress.
Gillian Anderson in character as Maragret Thatcher Netflix
The teaser ends with the news that the fourth series of The Crown will debut on 15 November.
Filming on the impending series of The Crown wrapped up earlier this year, shortly before the UK went into lockdown.
Advertisement
Emma Corrin is joining The Crown in series four as Princess Diana Netflix
Olivia Colman will be joined by returning cast members Tobias Menzies, Helena Bonham Carter and Josh O’Connor, all set to reprise their roles from the third series.
The last few weeks have also brought plenty of news about the fifth and sixth series of The Crown, which aren’t set to debut on Netflix until 2021 and 2022.
Meanwhile, Lesley Manville and Elizabeth Debicki will be playing Princess Margaret and Princess Diana, although it’s yet to be confirmed who will be appearing opposite her as Prince Charles.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--BBC News Boss Predicts TV Bulletins Could Be Axed As Audiences Move Online

The BBC’s traditional TV news bulletins could disappear within 10 years as audiences move online, the corporation’s head of news has predicted.
Fran Unsworth told the Daily Telegraph that the News At Six and News At Ten will fade from television, as news will be “in the digital space” where it will be accessed by iPlayer.
Sophie Raworth hosting BBC News BBC
Advertisement
“Ultimately, in 10 years’ time, we probably won’t be consuming linear bulletins,” she told the paper. “I might be wrong about that but I doubt it.
“There might be one [bulletin] a day, but video will just be in a different space… you know, iPlayer, your tablet, your iPhone.”
She added that one of the flagship programmes, whose audiences have doubled during the pandemic, might survive.
Figures released at the start of lockdown showed news bulletins and lifestyle programmes had seen a rise in ratings.
Advertisement
In the week ending March 29, five of the 10 most-watched broadcasts were editions of the BBC News At Six, with the bulletin on Monday March 23 attracting a TV audience of 8.3 million – nearly double the programme’s typical ratings so far this year.
Unsworth also told the Telegraph the 10pm programme had reported audiences of six million.
Fran Unsworth of the BBC PA
The BBC recently faced scrutiny over its decision to axe its children’s news programme Newsround’s afternoon TV slot, as audiences for its bulletins on the small screen continued to fall in lockdown.
The broadcaster wants to move more of its children’s content online in an attempt to halt declining TV viewing numbers among young people.
TV watchdog Ofcom has approved the corporation’s request to reduce the minimum amount of news it is required to broadcast on the CBBC channel from 85 hours to 35 hours a year from September.
Advertisement
It warned that if “younger audiences don’t engage with the BBC, then public support for the licence fee could be eroded”, which poses “a significant risk to the future sustainability of the BBC”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--Steve Bannon Charged With Fraud Over 'We Build The Wall' Fundraiser

President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon leaves federal court in New York. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Steve Bannon, the right-wing firebrand who masterminded Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election victory, has been charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of people through a “We Build The Wall” crowdfunder.
Bannon, along with three others – Brian Kolfage, Andrew Badolato and Timothy Shea – were arrested on Thursday and indicted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, New York.
Advertisement
All three face up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Bannon has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment alleges all three siphoned off large sums from the $25m (£19m) raised by the campaign and used it to fund “lavish lifestyles” and cover personal expenses.
Despite promising that 100% of the donated money would be used for the project, the defendants collectively used hundreds of thousands of dollars in a manner inconsistent with the organisation’s public representations, it is alleged.
The indictment said they faked invoices and sham “vendor” arrangements, among other ways, to hide what was really happening.
Bannon wore a protective white mask amid the coronavirus pandemic and two open-collared shirts at a federal court in Manhattan, where his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. He was freed on $5 million bond and was barred by a federal magistrate judge from traveling internationally.
Advertisement
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Inspector-in-Charge Philip Bartlett said: “The defendants allegedly engaged in fraud when they misrepresented the true use of donated funds.
“As alleged, not only did they lie to donors, they schemed to hide their misappropriation of funds by creating sham invoices and accounts to launder donations and cover up their crimes, showing no regard for the law or the truth.
“This case should serve as a warning to other fraudsters that no one is above the law, not even a disabled war veteran or a millionaire political strategist.”
Advertisement
Bannon was chief executive of the alt-right Breitbart News before stepping down to serve as CEO of Trump election campaign in 2016 and moved on to a top White House strategy post after the victory.
The blunt-spoken, combative Bannon was the voice of a nationalistic, outsider conservatism, and he pushed Trump to follow through on some of his most contentious campaign promises, including his travel ban for some foreigners and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement.
But Bannon also clashed with other top advisers, and his high profile sometimes irked Trump and he was pushed out in August 2017.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he feels “very badly” about the charges but sought to distance himself from Bannon and the alleged scheme.
“I do think it’s a sad event,” Trump said. “I haven’t dealt with him at all now for years, literally years.”
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--4 In 10 People Tested For Covid-19 Are Still Not Getting Results Within 24 Hours

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Boris Johnson’s government is still failing to return Covid-19 test results within 24 hours, despite the prime minister pledging all would be done within a day by the end of June.
Advertisement
NHS Test and Trace data covering the week ending August 11, released on Thursday, showed that the service is in fact getting worse at carrying out quick checks.
Just 60% of in-person tests were returned within 24 hours and 14% of home tests within 48 hours, marking huge drops from the previous week, when the figures were 70% and 33% respectively.
Swift testing is key to the government’s strategy of stamping out outbreaks in the months ahead, but the new figures mean that as many as four in 10 are still not getting results within 24 hours.
The figures for the also showed that just 71.3% of close contact were traced - the lowest since the service, run by Tory peer Dido Harding, was launched.
Advertisement
The weekly figures show that 71.3% of close contacts were reached in the week ending August 12, down from 74.2% in the previous week, and down on the 91.1% reached in the first week of Test and Trace (week ending June 3).
When pressed by ex-health secretary Jeremy Hunt on when tests would all be returned within 24 hours PM had told the Commons in June: “I can undertake to him now to get all tests turned around in 24 hours by the end of June, except for difficulties with postal tests or insuperable problems like that.”
The government has also announced that its contact tracing app trial for the London borough of Newham will begin on Friday.
The figures also show that local council-run health teams continue to handle contact tracing better than Test and Trace, which is largely staffed by the private firm Serco.
For cases handled by local health protection teams, since the service launched 11 weeks ago, 97.7% of close contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 have been reached and asked to self-isolate.
Advertisement
By contrast, for those cases handled either online or by call centres, 56.9% of close contacts have been reached and asked to self-isolate.
Overall, 227,577 close contacts of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 have been reached through the tracing system and asked to self-isolate.
This is 81% out of a total of 281,118 people identified as close contacts.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-20--Matt Hancock's Scrapping Of Public Health England Reignites Debate Over NHS Privatisation

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Matt Hancock’s decision to scrap Public Health England in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic has sparked fresh claims the Tories are privatising the NHS and putting “profiteering and corporate greed” over the wellbeing of the nation.
Advertisement
The new National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) will take in some of PHE’s responsibilities along with the NHS Test and Trace programme and the work of the Joint Biosecurity Centre.
The organisation, headed by Tory peer Dido Harding, will respond to health threats including infectious diseases, pandemics and biological weapons.
But critics fear it will present further opportunities to privatise parts of the NHS despite recent history showing the results of this process can be disastrous.
“It’s immoral for private companies to be making a profit from healthcare and outsourcing and privatisation has done untold damage to the sector,” a spokesperson for campaign group We Own It told HuffPost UK.
Advertisement
“This is hard-wired into the Conservative Party’s DNA, the ideological idea that the public sector is bad, private sector is good and you get significantly more efficiency and expertise in the private sector.
“But what we’ve seen is actually the exact opposite of that is true.”
The NHS – some basics
The NHS was founded in 1948 on the principles that its services should be comprehensive, universal and free at the point of delivery. There are separate and independent systems in England, Wales and Scotland.
It is funded mostly through taxation and national insurance contributions, with a small portion collected through charges to patients, such as paid-for prescriptions.
The NHS is immensely expensive to run – the total budget allocated for the NHS in England 2018/19, for example, was £126.4bn and nearly 10% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) goes towards healthcare expenditure.
What does privatisation of the NHS actually mean?
Those who raise concerns about the privatisation of the health service are in essence saying they are concerned about how much of these vast sums of money are given to private companies to provide services, rather than being given to NHS bodies.
Advertisement
Why are people against this?
Critics argue that because private companies are driven primarily by profit, they will only take on services that will make them money, and quality of service could be put at risk.
This has been thrown sharply into focus during the coronavirus pandemic as pressure on the NHS mounted to near breaking point and the government looked to the private sector to ease the burden.
The timing of Hancock’s announcement has also raised eyebrows.
Labour MP Claudia Webbe told HuffPost UK: “Abolishing PHE is a desperate attempt to distract from the government’s own abysmal record on the coronavirus.
“There’s been no scrutiny of what they’re doing. They’ve announced it during recess and that is not the way to do things in a transparent manner.
“If this isn’t about privatisation through the back door then why not be open and allow scrutiny.”
What has already been privatised?
Dentistry, optical care and pharmacies have been run by private companies for decades and most GP surgeries are private partnerships.
Advertisement
Both Labour and Conservative governments have outsourced various functions of the NHS to private providers.
A 2019 study by The King’s Fund estimated that, in 2017/18, about a quarter of the NHS’s budget was spent on the private sector.
But during the coronavirus pandemic, large and crucial parts of the country’s response have been outsourced to private companies with abysmal results.
Despite its name, NHS Test and Trace was largely contracted out to Serco in a deal worth £45.8 million.
The system – which Boris Johnson promised would be “world-beating” – has been a failure and NHS leaders earlier this month said it was not “fit for purpose, let alone world class”.
Advertisement
Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth, added in a post on Twitter: “Test & Trace isn’t world beating as promised. It’s spent millions on outsourced Serco call centres & private labs when everyone advised them to put local health experts in lead.
“Cash would be more effective if given to local public health. Serco shouldn’t receive a penny more.”
Test & Trace isn’t world beating as promised. It’s spent £ millions on outsourced Serco call centres & private labs when everyone advised them to put local health experts in lead. Cash would be more effective if given to local public health. Serco shouldn’t receive a penny more. — Jonathan Ashworth 😷 (@JonAshworth) August 18, 2020
Even the discussions about possible options for Test and Trace was outsourced to a private company.
A reported by the FT, consultancy firm McKinsey was hired for £563,400 to submit a document that outlined the “mission and vision” of a proposed new organisation by the end of June.
In a statement to HuffPost UK, the government defended Test and Trace, saying: “Collaboration with public and private sector partners has been an important part of the pandemic response and helped us rapidly build the largest diagnostic testing network in British history.”
Advertisement
A spokesperson for the Department of Health added: “The NHS is not and never will be for sale.”
What other areas have been outsourced?
A HuffPost UK investigation this week highlighted the “scandalous and shocking” revelations about the way taxpayers’ money was handed out to private firms to produce much-needed PPE in the early days of the pandemic.
Contracts worth millions of pounds were handed out to companies with links to pro-Brexit lobby groups and others with no previous experience of producing what they were paid to make.
“That demonstrates a clear contempt for our most treasured institution, the NHS,” said Webbe.
“In services essential to human life, profiteering and corporate greed should be off limits.”
Will more be up for grabs?
In relation to the establishment of the NIHP, nothing official has yet been confirmed but when announcing the news this week, Hancock praised partnering with private firms as “the best way through” the pandemic and urged them to “join us”.
“The devil will be in the detail but the real worry is there will be more involvement of companies such as Serco, especially as it’s being billed as a merger of the ‘NHS Test and and Trace system’ which is run by private companies,” We Own It said.
“And with what Hancock said during his announcement, that essentially we’re going to see more and more of PHE’s work being siphoned off to private companies.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Goats Damage Police Car As Officers Respond To WWII Mortar

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Kids these days ...
Police on the Isle of Wight launched a tongue-in-cheek appeal to find two young goats caught on camera clambering over a police car, according to multiple news outlets.
The kids jumped onto the roof of the vehicle on Tuesday as officers were dealing with the discovery of an unexploded mortar shell, dating from World War II, in a field outside the town of Newport.
Advertisement
“A couple of ‘kids’ caused damage to one of our police vehicles,” tweeted police. “If you recognise the offenders from the photo please let us know…..”
WITNESS APPEAL 👇👇
Unfortunately whilst at an incident on the outskirts of Newport yesterday, a couple of 'kids' caused damage to one of our police vehicles. If you recognise the offenders from the photo please let us know.......https://t.co/L5IH69fr6V pic.twitter.com/cymoWOkn4C — Isle of Wight Police (@IOWightPolice) August 19, 2020
Police later shared video to Facebook of the Royal Navy Explosives Team detonating the shell to remove the danger.
The picture of the goats, meanwhile, went viral and prompted plenty of puns in reply.
“Those pesky kids,” commented one person.
“Pranks like this really get my goat,” said another.
It’s OK we have them behind baaaaaaas pic.twitter.com/TGxNpThsa3 — Keating Team 🤙🏼 (@keatingteam1) August 20, 2020
Advertisement
Those pesky kids! — Emma Verdin 🏳🌈🇪🇺✊🏿🌹 (@emma_verdin) August 20, 2020
Think the on the left is called Billy! — steve (@StevieT_MrT) August 19, 2020
...and the one on the right is his nanny. — Steve (@g0lfp) August 19, 2020
I think I saw them earlier but when challenged they hoofed it. — Tom Easton (@TomEaston) August 20, 2020
Pranks like this really get my goat... pic.twitter.com/s2xEgm3HUn — Will E-B (@WEB_RN) August 20, 2020
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Kate Garraway Announces Short Break From Presenting Good Morning Britain To Spend Time With Family

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Kate Garraway has announced she’s taking a short break from presenting on Good Morning Britain, to focus on looking after her family.
Earlier this year, Kate took three months off work after her husband Derek Draper was taken to intensive care, after contracting Covid-19.
Advertisement
The daytime presenter returned to GMB in July, and revealed during Friday’s show that she’ll be taking next week off to spend time with her children, William and Darcey.
“I’m actually not here next week,” she explained. “I’m taking a bit of time off to help Billy get sorted for secondary school. Darcey as well. And also Derek, look after things on that.”
Kate Garraway in the Good Morning Britain studio Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
She continued: “I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for absolutely being brilliant since I’ve come back through challenging times.”
Advertisement
Earlier this week, Kate revealed that she and her family had an emotional weekend as they marked Derek’s birthday while he remains in intensive care.
She told co-host Adil Ray: “[It] was obviously a challenging one under the circumstances.
“We managed to FaceTime him and sing happy birthday, and we had a cake, which we had on FaceTime. So we tried to mark the moment.”
Derek Draper and Kate Garraway, pictured in 2008 PA
When Adil questioned whether it had been a difficult day for the couple’s two children, Kate told him: “It’s very challenging, they’re doing brilliantly with it, though.
“We managed to do it with Derek’s family as well, we managed to technically hook up and sing happy birthday and just hope that the love seeps through.”
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Grant Shapps Doesn't Know Many People Have Been Fined For Breaking Quarantine Rules

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus.Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps is in the dark about the number of people who have been fined for breaking quarantine rules after returning to the UK, he has admitted.
Advertisement
Shapps – who was himself forced to self-isolate for 14 days after quarantine restrictions were imposed on Spain while he was on holiday in July – was asked how many people had been given fines for failing to quarantine after travelling to the UK from countries with surging cases of coronavirus.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, people who do not self-isolate can be fined up to £1,000. In Scotland, the fine is £480.
Shapps told BBC Breakfast how his wife had been “randomly” called by Border Force after returning from their holiday to check she was remaining at home.
Asked whether people had received fines for breaking quarantine rules, he said “yes” – but was unable to give any specific figures.
Advertisement
“Border Force figures will announce those figures in time, I don’t have their data,” he said.
“You’re the transport secretary, why don’t you have the data?,” presenter Naga Munchetty asked.
Shapps hit back: “Because in this country, we allow the authorities to get on with their job and they release the information, not ministers.”
It comes after Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago were dropped from the UK’s list of safe travel corridors, meaning holidaymakers returning from these countries after 4am on Saturday will have to self-isolate for two weeks.
France and Spain – among the most popular holiday destinations for British tourists – have already been added to the list of quarantine countries, along wit a number of others.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Crowns Another Winner – How Many Million-Pound Questions Would You Ge

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Crowns Another Winner – How Many Million-Pound Questions Would You Get Right?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Donald Fear, 57, became the first person in 14 years to scoop the top prize on the ITV quiz show on Friday night.
Advertisement
The history and politics teacher, who lives in Telford, correctly answered the final 15th question about the death of a famous pirate in 1718.
Host Jeremy Clarkson asked him: ”In 1718, which pirate died in battle off the coast of what is now North Carolina? A) Calico Jack, B) Blackbeard, C) Bartholomew Roberts or D) Captain Kidd.”
Donald correctly answered with Blackbeard, which earned him a cool £1 million.
🙌🙌🙌 YESSSSS!!! OH YES YES YES! 🙌🙌🙌 #WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire pic.twitter.com/tg7Oo5ZGra — Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (@MillionaireUK) September 11, 2020
In light of Donald’s win, we’re taking a look back at the seven contestants who previously pulled off the feat, and the questions that they got right to bag the top prize.
Advertisement
Fancy putting your trivia to the test? See how many of these million-pound questions you’d get right…


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Brexit Trade Deal Now 'Unlikely', EU's Michel Barnier Says

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
It is now “unlikely” that Britain and the EU will agree a Brexit trade deal, Brussels’ chief negotiator has said.
Advertisement
Michel Barnier said he was “disappointed, concerned and surprised” after another week of negotiations ended without progress.
UK chief negotiator David Frost insisted a deal was “still possible” but conceded: “It will not be easy to achieve.”
The two sides remain far apart on whether the UK and EU should follow the same rules on state aid, and on agreeing a deal on how European boats get access to British fishing waters.
That was despite the UK this week tabling a draft legal text for a deal to “consolidate both sides’ positions on goods and services,” a senior British negotiating official said.
Advertisement
“We have been saying it’s time to move to text-based discussions, the negotiation is ripe for doing that,” they said.
“We’ll have to see what the EU makes of that in the next couple of weeks because we believe it’s a useful basis to move things forward,” they added.
A failure to strike a deal by the end of the year would mean the UK and EU effectively default to trading on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, with potentially huge economic disruption.
At a press conference in Brussels at the end of talks, Barnier said: “Too often this week it felt as if we were going backwards rather than forwards.
“At this stage, an agreement between the UK and the European Union looks unlikely. I simply don’t understand why we are wasting valuable time.”
Advertisement
Frost said: “We have just concluded the seventh round of negotiations with the EU. As I said last week, agreement is still possible, and it is still our goal, but it is clear that it will not be easy to achieve.
“Substantive work continues to be necessary across a range of different areas of potential UK-EU future cooperation if we are to deliver it.
“We have had useful discussions this week but there has been little progress.
“The EU is still insisting not only that we must accept continuity with EU state aid and fisheries policy, but also that this must be agreed before any further substantive work can be done in any other area of the negotiation, including on legal texts. This makes it unnecessarily difficult to make progress.”
European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, centre, and the British Prime Minister's Europe adviser David Frost, left, arrive for Brexit trade talks between the EU and the UK, in Brussels, Friday August 21 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Barnier, however, insisted that EU demands for a so-called “level playing field” of common rules and standards on areas like state aid were “non-negotiable”.
Advertisement
“The need for a level playing field is not going to go away, even if the UK continues to exist on a low-quality agreement on goods and services only,” he said.
He added that “it is a non-negotiable pre-condition to grant access to our market of 450m citizens”.
Barnier said: “We are asking for nothing more, but nothing less, than what prime minister Boris Johnson committed to in our joint political declaration last October together with the 27 EU leaders.”
The EU’s negotiator also said the two sides had made “no progress whatsoever” on fisheries, with the UK demanding more control over British waters than Brussels is willing to accept.
Barnier stressed that any trade deal must include common rules and warned that the UK would have to make similar concessions in agreements with other countries, like the United States.
He said: “We hear the British government’s concern about maintaining its sovereignty and its regulatory autonomy and we respect that, clearly. But no international agreement was ever reached without the parties agreeing to common rules – no international agreement.
Advertisement
“And I can predict, with absolute certainty, this will also be the case of trade agreements between the UK and other partners in the future such as the United States, Japan and Australia.
“Apart from the question of a level playing field there are still many other areas where progress is needed and for example, obviously fisheries where we have made no progress whatsoever on the issues that matter.”
But Frost said the EU needed to accept the “reality” of what the UK is seeking.
“We have been clear from the outset about the principles underlying the UK approach,” he said.
“We are seeking a relationship which ensures we regain sovereign control of our own laws, borders, and waters, and centred upon a trading relationship based on an FTA [free trade agreement] like those the EU has concluded with a range of other international partners, together with practical arrangements for cooperation in areas such as aviation, scientific programmes, and law enforcement.
“When the EU accepts this reality in all areas of the negotiation, it will be much easier to make progress.”
The two sides will remain in “close contact” before another formal negotiating round in London in the week beginning September 7, Frost said.
Advertisement
Barnier once again insisted “the clock is ticking”, with October seen as a deadline for negotiations if any deal is going to be agreed and ratified by the end of the transition period on December 31.
The UK senior negotiating official refused to be drawn on whether talks could drag into October or beyond.
“We will have to see what can be done in September,” they said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Courteney Cox Can't Get Over Just How Much Jennifer Aniston Sucks At Pool

LOADING ERROR LOADING
We all have that one friend who absolutely sucks at pool, and for Courteney Cox, that Friend is Jennifer Aniston.
The former co-stars took one another on in during a recent night in, but it wasn’t much of a competition for Courteney, it seems.
Advertisement
The Monica Geller actor shared a video of Jennifer displaying some less than impressive skills on the table, which were in stark contrast to her own.
Jennifer was seen missing shots, potting the cue ball, flipping the bird at Courteney and just generally being not very good at the table sport, before she eventually potted a ball at the end of the video.
Sharing it on Instagram, Courteney wrote: “I may have had a good night...but could my friend BE any cuter?”
Advertisement
Jennifer Aniston isn't the best pool player Instagram
Posting it to her own page, Jennifer also wrote: “Friends shouldn’t let Friends play pool (especially when they suck).”
All we can say is, at least it wasn’t table tennis, because we all know what happened the last time Courteney/Monica was let loose with a bat and ball…
Jennifer and Courteney were due to reunite with their co-stars Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry earlier this year to film a TV special celebrating 25 years of Friends.
Advertisement
However, the retrospective has now been pushed back for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It had been thought the actors would be able to come together this month to shoot the unscripted special, which will look back at the iconic sitcom.
But speaking to Deadline about the second postponement, Jennifer insisted it would be worth the wait for fans.
“Unfortunately it’s very sad that we had to move it again,” she said “It was, ‘How do we do this with live audiences?’
“This is not a safe time. Period. That’s the bottom line. It’s not a safe time to do it.”
She continued: “You know what? This has also given us more time to make it even more exciting and more fun than it would have been. So I choose to see it as the glass is half-full that it got postponed.
Advertisement
“Look, we’re not going anywhere. You’re never going to get rid of Friends, sorry. You’re stuck with us for life guys.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Trump Cooks Up Wacky New Birther Slam: Joe Biden Wasn't Born In Pennsylvania

President Donald Trump expanded his “birther” conspiracy theories on Thursday to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, telling a crowd in Pennsylvania that Biden “wasn’t born” in the state because he moved to Delaware with his family when he was a child.
“He’d say he was born here,” Trump told listeners in Scranton. “But he left when he was like 8, 9 or 10. So he left 68 years ago, he left — a long time ago. So I view it differently. He wasn’t born here. He abandoned Scranton!”
Advertisement
Trump conceded: “His family had something to do with that, you know, his parents. But he left Scranton.”
Biden was born in Scranton in 1942 and moved from the state to Mayfield, Delaware, with his family when he was 13, according to his biography. Trump didn’t name the state he believes counts as Biden’s birthplace.
Trump repeatedly pushed the false and racist conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not born in the US. He has also recently questioned the citizenship of Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, saying she may not “meet the requirements” to run as vice president because her parents were immigrants — even though she was born in California. Everyone born in the US is an American citizen under the Constitution.
Critics could hardly believe what they heard coming out of Trump’s mouth.
Trump’s new birther theory, Joe wasn’t really born in Scranton. No, seriously. pic.twitter.com/FbMVOCMAZX — Biff Rendar (@biffrendar) August 20, 2020
Advertisement
Donald Trump on Joe Biden: "He wasn't born here. He abandoned Scranton"
You know the Trump campaign is getting desperate when he is starting a birther conspiracy about a 77-year-old white man — The Hardy Report Podcast (@EdwardTHardy) August 20, 2020
The day the @JoeBiden Birther movement conspiracy theory was born....
‘He Wasn’t Born Here’: Trump Birthers Biden Near Scranton Ahead Of DNC Acceptance Speechhttps://t.co/UwCbonuIAf — Bad Kitty 1 (@Supermom1242) August 20, 2020
One birther theory too many. Make America Sane Again? https://t.co/NtlFLWPvlW — Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) August 20, 2020
He didn't really understand how he won last time, so he's repeating everything to see if it helps. — D. R. Dick (@granitevoter) August 20, 2020
I was born in Phoenix. My parents left when I was 3 months old. Pretty sure I was still born in Phoenix 🤔 — Bree Votes Blue 🌊🌈🔄 (@BreeintheDesert) August 20, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--BBC Receives More Than 8,000 Complaints Over BBC Breakfast Report On Channel Migrant Crossings

The BBC has received more than 8,000 complaints over a BBC Breakfast report about migrants crossing the Channel shown earlier this month.
The segment, which aired on the breakfast show on 10 August, saw reporter Simon Jones broadcast live from a boat that had pulled alongside a dinghy with migrants on board.
People outside the main entrance to the BBC's Broadcasting House building in central London georgeclerk via Getty Images
Advertisement
He said: “We have seen them trying to get water out of the boat, they’re doing that at the moment, they are using a plastic container to try to bail out the boat.
“Obviously it’s pretty overloaded there. People are wearing life jackets, it is pretty dangerous, just the number of people on board that boat.”
After asking whether they were safe, Jones remained with the boat until those on board were picked up by the UK Border Force.
Some 8,340 complaints were made to the broadcaster on the grounds that viewers felt the programme showed “offensive/insensitive coverage of migrants crossing the Channel by boat”.
Advertisement
In response, a BBC spokesperson said: “This report was a stark illustration of the significant risks some people are prepared to take to reach the UK.
“Channel crossings is a topic of huge importance and we always endeavour to cover the story sensitively.
“In this instance the Dover Coastguard were aware of the boat before our crew spoke to them and at no point did they, or those in the boat signal that a rescue operation was required.
“The Coastguards instead alerted Border Force, who then safely picked up the occupants and took them to shore.”
Earlier this month, the BBC received almost 19,000 complaints about the uncensored use of the N-word in a report about a racist attack in Bristol.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Birmingham Could Face Local Lockdown 'Within Days' Amid Spike In Coronavirus Cases

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Birmingham could be placed under a city-wide lockdown in a matter of days if coronavirus infection rates do not improve, officials and police have warned.
Advertisement
The UK’s second-largest city is “at a knife edge moment”, with latest figures showing the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 had risen to 30 cases per 100,000 this week, up from 22.4 the week before and 12 at the start of the month.
Birmingham city council leader, Ian Ward, urged the city to act now to prevent a return to the “dark days” of lockdown.
In a statement to Birmingham residents, he said a second lockdown ”will set our already-fragile economy back and that could mean more job uncertainty and further struggles to make ends meet for many.”
He added: “Most people are still doing the right things – the basics such as handwashing, wearing face coverings in the appropriate places and keeping two metres apart wherever possible.
Advertisement
“We all need to keep doing this. I understand that lockdown fatigue has inevitably set in for some and that the easing of restrictions means it is easy to take your eye off the ball.
“But we have to remain focussed. If we are forced to go back to the dark days of spring it will be because we haven’t collectively done our bit for the greater good of the city.”
Local police have also called on residents to adhere to social distancing and avoid gatherings.
Superintendent Gareth Morris told the public to “do your utmost to follow the guidelines as restrictive as they are, so we can once again be reunited with the people and things we love.”
In a statement, he said: “Many lockdown measures have been relaxed, but if new cases rise we will undoubtedly face the potential of stepping back into those restrictions. We all must do what we can to avoid another lockdown.
“The impact on people’s lives and businesses has already been so significantly affected by the national lockdown, that we must try and do all we can to prevent that occurring in Birmingham and taking us into a state of city wide lockdown.
Advertisement
Birmingham is set to feature on the government’s national watchlist, compiled every Friday, which would likely mean new restrictions and actions.
Dr Justin Varney, Birmingham’s director of public health, said the city had to “stand up and stand together on this”.
“What we do in the next seven days will decide if we go into lockdown or not. If we do it will be for at least two or three weeks, and that will be devastating.
He added: “We are at a knife-edge moment. The next five to ten days are crucial.”
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Dr Ron Daniels, an intensive care doctor working at hospitals in Birmingham City for University Hospitals Birmingham, said the “public shouldn’t panic” as “we are not seeing cases rising uniformly across the city of Birmingham”.
“The public in general should not be unduly alarmed. The most important thing is people at the moment are not coming into hospitals. So people don’t seem to be getting as unwell as they were.
Advertisement
He added: “To my knowledge, the number of people in critical care with Covid-19 across the University Hospitals Birmingham right now is two.”
Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood in Birmingham, told HuffPost UK the prospect of a local lockdown will “obviously see a return of the huge challenges we all lived through at the height of the pandemic”.
She said: “We cannot afford the same mistakes the government made with the local lockdown in Leicester. We will need testing increased and enhanced massively – this needs funding, proper cooperation, and the Council taking a lead on delivery.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Strictly Rumours & Katie Price On YouTube | Good Vibes Only

Strictly Rumours & Katie Price On YouTube | Good Vibes Only
This week in entertainment, rumours swirl for Strictly Come Dancing’s socially-distanced return in October. We look back a decade to perhaps the best series of The X Factor in 2010, Katie Price is not disappointing on her YouTube channel, The Muppets return on Disney+ and we take a look inside the Bruderhof.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Joe Biden Accepts Democratic Presidential Nomination: ‘I’ll Be An Ally Of The Light’

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Joe Biden officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president on the final night of the party’s virtual convention on Thursday. As he accepted the honor, Biden promised to work hard for everyone, including people who didn’t vote for him.
“While I’ll be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president,” Biden said in his remarks. “I’ll work hard for those who didn’t support me, as hard for them as I did for those who did vote for me.”
Advertisement
The former vice president said that President Donald Trump has “cloaked America in darkness for much too long.”
“Too much anger,” he said. “Too much fear. Too much division.”
“If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst,” Biden continued. “I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It’s time for us — for we the people — to come together.”
Biden noted that America is facing “four historic crises,” including the coronavirus pandemic, the economic recession, racial injustice and the ongoing protests to end it, and climate change.
“Just judge this president on the facts,” Biden said of Trump before listing the number of Americans infected with Covid-19 (over 5 million) and the number of Americans who have been killed by the virus (more than 173,000).
Advertisement
“If this president is reelected, we know what will happen. Cases and deaths will remain far too high,” Biden said.
His remarks culminated four days of impassioned and emotional pleas from prominent Democrats and politicians, many warning that four more years of Trump’s administration loom as an existential threat to US democracy.
Much of Biden’s message adhered to the theme of the convention’s slogan that urged Americans to create a “more perfect union” and highlighted the effects of Trump’s divisive rhetoric on the country.
Biden recalled the violent white supremacist demonstration that brought “neo-Nazis and Klansmen” to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
“Remember what the president said? There were quote, ‘very fine people on both sides,’” Biden said.
“It was a wake-up call for us as a country. And for me, a call to action,” the candidate said. “At that moment, I knew I’d have to run. My father taught us that silence was complicity. And I could not remain silent or complicit.”
Advertisement
“At the time, I said we were in a battle for the soul of this nation,” he said. “And we are.”
WATCH: "That was a wake-up call for our country and, for me, a call to action. At that moment, I knew I'd have to run."
Joe Biden says President Trump's "good people on both sides" comment after Charlottesville was the day he knew he would run in the 2020 election. pic.twitter.com/FStrZiNV9B — PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) August 21, 2020
Earlier this month, Biden tapped Sen. Kamala Harris of California to be his running mate. Since then, the pair have focused fire on Trump and his administration while also fleshing out their own biographies for voters.
While Biden’s speech was the centerpiece of the convention, he made appearances several times during the virtual event, including Tuesday night after his wife, Jill Biden, gave a speech touting her 77-yeat-old husband’s commitment to public service, even as he much personal grief in his life.
The former vice president in Barack Obama’s administration also briefly appeared on stage with Harris after she gave her acceptance speech Wednesday night in Delaware, Biden’s home state which he represented in the Senate for 36 years.
Biden’s presidential bid got off to a rocky start when he ran poorly in the opening nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire. But he turned his campaign around with an impressive win in the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29. He then dominated the rest of the primary campaign, which took an unexpected turn in late March when the coronavirus pandemic forced him and the other remaining candidates to cease large rallies and in-person politicking.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--45 Comics That Sum Up Parenting In 2020

45 Comics That Sum Up Parenting In 2020

By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Has The Lifting Of Lockdown Been The Ultimate Cuffing Season?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
You’re reading our series Summer’s Not Cancelled, celebrating summer in this new normal. From rediscovering nature and time with friends and family, to virtual festivals and unforgettable staycations – summer’s still here, it’s just different.
The coronavirus pandemic has turned our lives upside down, including how we date and even how we’re told to have sex. Or not to have it.
Advertisement
During the height of lockdown, we waved goodbye to one-night-stands, late-night drinks and hookups. Some flouted the rules for some sneaky sex in the park and not-so-socially-distanced dates. But with limited physical connection, most sought out ways to engage virtually instead. For the better part of 2020, dating has been restricted to online only – with phone and video calls more important than ever before. There was even a period when we were asking whether we’d ever get our physical sex lives back.
Then came Boris Johnson’s social bubbles in June, unexpected respite for single people and non-cohabiting couples across England – even if calling it “bubbling up” could not sound less appealing, sexually speaking.
From early July, the government eased lockdown in earnest. Now we’re allowed to meet up (unless you’re unlucky enough to live in an area that’s been locked down again, please keep up). So how has the dating landscape changed?
archigram via Getty Images
Advertisement
Some suggest that ‘cuffing season’ – when people couple up for winter to get some cosy, centrally-heated ‘comforts’ – is no longer reserved for the cold months, especially with people back on dating apps and interested to make the most of summer meetups before any rumoured second wave.
But, according to a survey conducted by dating app Bumble, more than half of its users (55%) are seeking more meaningful relationships online after the loneliness of lockdown.
“Social distancing has drastically changed the way we are dating,” says Naomi Walkland, the app’s associate director of marketing. “Over the past two months, we’ve seen a big increase in video calls.” This activity has been aided, she says, by the ‘virtual dating’ badge users can add to their profile – as well as newly launched in-app audio notes for the more camera-shy.
There’s been talk of lockdown enabling ‘slow love’, with extra time to nurture a budding romance before you hit the bedroom; to build trust and connection; and to lay the foundations for a relationship that can flourish in the long term.
This is how it played out for Rory O’Moore, 20, from Wigan who matched with his now-girlfriend on Tinder in late February, but without meeting until late July.
Advertisement
“It’s a weird experience meeting someone in person after months of already knowing them.” - Rory, 20
“We spoke every day in lockdown through Instagram and FaceTime. We finally managed to meet each other in person a couple weeks ago as pubs and bars were opening back up,” he explains.
“It’s a weird experience meeting someone in person after months of already knowing them. A lot of the questions you would ask on a first date were already answered. We’ve met each other a lot since the relaxing of lockdown, even meeting each others’ parents, and made it official last week.”
Some relationships went into “turbo” mode at the start of lockdown after the encouragement from senior health officials for couples to “test their relationship” by moving in together. Other more recent couplings, formed since lockdown easing, are also on fast forward.
But is the fresh wave of dating activity this summer driven by people looking for genuine commitment or by the desire – or panic – not to go it alone if a second wave hits, especially after the sex drought of spring?
Advertisement
“Normally, cuffing season is about winter hibernation and hunkering down with someone for the cold period, but there’s so much uncertainty on the future or how long things will last, this has changed people’s mindsets,” says Charly Lester, relationship expert at online dating app, The Inner Circle.
“Summer is the one time of year when you can safely date outside. We’ve seen a real rise in socially-distanced dates and traditional dating methods like going for a walk in the park or a bike ride.
“If you’d have asked someone six months ago if they were planning on doing those things on a date, they would’ve laughed at you.”
franckreporter via Getty Images
Advertisement
As if dating wasn’t hard enough for singletons looking for love in the short summer timeframe, recent controversial guidance from the Terrence Higgins Trust argues for face coverings and against face-to-face contact during sex.
“It’s very naive to think that the public will wear masks during sex. No one is going to do this,” O’Moore reasons.
“The government is fine with groups going into bars and restaurants, so why can’t two people kiss if they’ve been safe and not showing symptoms? Even if you’re not in a face-to-face or missionary position – you’re both heavily breathing. I don’t think the position you’re in is going to have much effect unless you’re gifted with a 5 ft penis to be able to have socially-distanced safe sex.”
“I live with my vulnerable grandparents and I can’t kill them for a snog.” - Isabelle, 27
Isabella Silvers, 27, from Hounslow, is in the early stages of dating a guy who lives in the next street over from hers and is debating whether or not to take things further.
“We started talking at the end of July on Bumble – the 28th July at 22.26pm to be precise,” she says. “We knew we both lived in Hounslow, but the less than 60 second distance only became apparent when we went home together (to our separate houses) after our first date.”
Advertisement
So far, they’ve only hugged with faces turned away. She’s in two minds about kissing because Silvers has family members still shielding and is worried about the recent spike in cases in her area.
“I live with my vulnerable grandparents and I can’t kill them for a snog, so I’m not sure what to do,” she explains.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--The 'Work Staycation' Is On The Rise. Here's Why People Are Doing It

Natasha Hinde My work staycation in Kent
It’s 9am on a Monday morning, and I’m sat in the glorious Kent countryside at a small kitchen table in the living area of my Airbnb. I’ve never heard so much birdsong in my life – nor have I seen so many bees. As I open my laptop, I stare out of the door into the quintessential English cottage garden, and begin to type. Just another day in the office... my work staycation office, that is.
My friend is sat opposite me working, too. We spend the mornings at our laptops, bouncing ideas off one another and enjoying the change of scenery. It’s nice having someone else to work alongside, other than my partner (and cats).
Advertisement
We take shared lunch breaks in the garden – cheese and biscuits with grapes and pineapple juice – and work from different rooms when we have meetings in the afternoon. The WiFi is great, the sun is shining – it’s the perfect set-up. In the evening, we clock off and explore somewhere new for the evening, forgetting for just a moment that it’s only a Monday night.
We’re on a work staycation, you see – and after months of staring at the same-old wall, with a back destroyed by sitting on my dining room chair, it’s much needed.
The pandemic saw thousands of us say goodbye to office life, retreating to makeshift desks at home instead. For some, it’s been an adjustment. For others, it’s opened up new possibilities in the way we work – and where we work. Many have realised that as long as you have the kit you need and a decent WiFi connection, you can work from pretty much anywhere.
My work staycation lasted four days: the weekend was spent sans work – exploring Whitstable and Herne Bay, sitting on quiet pebble beaches, eating fish and chips. And Monday and Tuesday was spent working from ‘The Potting Shed’ in Wickhambreaux, a home away from home. Despite being a short break, the whole experience – mentally and physically – left both of us feeling renewed.
Advertisement
Considering one in three workers believe they won’t be back in their office until at least 2021, according to YouGov, these ‘work staycations’ are probably about to become more popular. A survey of 2,000 workers by Huawei found 10% have worked from a holiday destination or holiday home already, and more than half said being able to choose where they work had a positive impact on their mental health. I, for one, can vouch for that.
Natasha Hinde The weekend was spent by the sea and weekdays were spent working from 'The Potting Shed'.
A ‘work staycation’ is simple: book accommodation somewhere other than your home for a few days or weeks (the government’s tier system may stop this happening in some areas of England). Heck, take a month if you dare. Slot in some annual leave so you can have a bit of a holiday while you’re there, then work from your accommodation for the rest of your stay.
The upsides are great: a change of scenery, the psychological boost of feeling like you’re on holiday (even if you’re working), and being able to clock off at 5.30pm and enjoy a new area – countryside, pubs, or hidden gem restaurants. The notable downside, of course, is that it costs money – but it doesn’t have to set you back a fortune, especially if you’re splitting it with a mate.
At the beginning of August, podcast producer Charlotte Foster, 39, travelled from her home in Newcastle-Under-Lyme to Fernhill Heath in Worcestershire for two nights for a change of scenery. “I chose there because the cottage looked nice, it wasn’t expensive and it wasn’t too far away from home – around 90 minutes in the car,” she tells HuffPost UK.
Advertisement
She booked a one-bedroom cottage with a stable door and garden situated in a small village. “Part of the attraction of going away was to spend time away from my husband, as terrible as that sounds,” says Foster. “We had a long-distance relationship for the first seven of our 15 years together and we’re both very independent with separate friendship groups and interests. Lockdown is probably the longest stretch of time we’ve spent together without a break.”
Supplied Charlotte Foster
Foster loved getting a fresh perspective while away from home. She chose to work in the kitchen of her Airbnb so she had easy access to the kettle (a must). “The table was huge for all my stuff because it turns out I don’t travel light, and there were extension cables for all the plugs I needed,” she says. “The WiFi was good enough for me to download, edit and upload the podcasts for my clients.”
Foster says as an employee, she used to roll her eyes at “away days” – or anything that took her away from day-to-day work. Now, she’s a changed woman. Despite having her own rented office space at home, she enjoyed being away – spending her evenings drinking wine and exploring the village by foot.
“Just being somewhere different gave me a sense of calm,” she says. “I was stressed out by the pandemic: worried about my business surviving and really worried about my parents. Yes, I still had to cook and clean up after myself but it always feels different when you’re away from home and ‘normality’.”
Advertisement
Charlotte Foster Charlotte Foster booked an Airbnb in Fernhill Heath in Worcestershire for her work staycation.
The break away also boosted her productivity, allowing her to focus on bigger picture things. A fresh perspective can often help kickstart creativity, which is why plenty of people in creative industries are opting for a work staycation.
“I’ve been so inspired that I created four new pieces of artwork while down in Cornwall,” says illustrator Christian Azolan, 37, who has booked three holiday rentals to work from, with his partner Konrad Treter, 32.
The couple, who are engaged, just spent a week in Cornwall, are currently in north Devon for a week, and will then spend a week in south Wales.
Christian Azolan Christian working from their Airbnb.
Advertisement
When lockdown hit, Azolan hadn’t long been made redundant, so the pair decided to give up their flat in Croydon and moved in with Azolan’s mum. As they’re no longer renting, they’re able to make the most of working from different locations.
They originally intended to go abroad, but due to the uncertainty of travel during the pandemic, they booked three holiday rentals in the UK instead. The pair made sure all three had fast internet, an office space and large kitchens so they could cook.
“The best part of working away from home is the scenery and not having to commute, which is so good,” says Azolan. “In the evenings, we go to different places for dinner in the local area and do a bit of exploring. Sometimes we check if anywhere on the seafront has internet and go and sit upstairs in a bar and enjoy the seaside views.
“We did this in Looe: we found a gin bar in town and enjoyed the view and had a few drinks while working.”
Christian Azolan Konrad working from the garden of their Airbnb.
Advertisement
They’ve been able to discover more beauty spots in the UK, which Azolan says they never would’ve done pre-Covid. Being able to visit areas where it’s a lot quieter has also given them peace of mind, as it’s easier to socially distance.
While they haven’t been away for that long, they’ve already felt the mental and physical benefits of it. “No downsides so far,” he says. “We’re more healthy as we cook more and go for walks in the evenings. At first we were just waiting for things to go back to normal, then we realised this is the new normal.
Independent human rights consultant, Vicki Prais, is currently spending a week in an apartment in Whitstable with a friend, who runs her own business. It’s her first work staycation.
“I’m finding it pretty easy to settle into work mode here,” she says. “I have a big report to edit which requires focus and attention so I get to my desk – in this case, the kitchen table – after breakfast, and get straight to work. I’m generally quite disciplined in my approach.” Her friend is also a positive influence, she says, helping her stay motivated and on track with her work.
Supplied Vicki Prais
Advertisement
Prais, 48, who lives in London, feels more productive and creative since arriving at the apartment – it’s also helped her de-stress. “I usually look out onto a brick wall in my study at home,” she says. “Here, I work in a lovely kitchen or lounge. The apartment looks out onto Whitstable high street and the sea is a stone’s throw away – both of which are a tonic.”
It hasn’t been all work and no play. The pair have enjoyed walks along the local beaches as well as perusing Whitstable’s many boutique shops. They also visited nearby Canterbury on a day trip. Prais is enjoying the freedom of the work staycation – and it sounds like this won’t be her last. “London is my home, but the world is my workplace,” she adds.
Author Saurav Dutt, 38, from Warwick, has booked a solo month-long stay in a cottage in Suffolk from mid-September so he can focus on his work. “I’m looking forward to the countryside, wonderful views, and silence,” he says.
“I’ll be working on several manuscripts – interestingly, one is actually a book of essays about depression and mental wellness. Work will occupy my thoughts in the day but once evening comes, it’ll be time to turn off the WiFi, phone and television, and concentrate on a creative world.”
Saurav Dutt Saurav Dutt
Advertisement
Dutt spent lockdown in his home study, so he’s excited to have the freedom to go somewhere knew – he’s also keen for the opportunity to concentrate and regain a sense of balance after the stress of the pandemic. “It’s wonderful to get up super early and see views that will inspire the writing,” he says.
“I’d recommend it to anybody who has the freedom to do this,” says Foster.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Is 'Mask Mouth' An Actual Thing – And Can It Be Prevented?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Here are five words you never want to have to utter to yourself: do I have mask mouth?
The phenomenon is supposedly what happens when you wear face masks or face covers for long periods of time and end up with bad breath and various other dental issues.
Advertisement
Some dentists in the US have reported a spike in patients seeking relief from bad breath caused by so-called mask mouth. Experts fear the condition could increase the chance of getting tooth decay or gum disease, HuffPost reported.
But Professor Damien Walmsley, the British Dental Association’s scientific advisor, says “attempts to link mask use and tooth decay appear motivated more by political prejudice than protecting public health”.
There has been no research or evidence to confirm mask mouth is an issue. However, it’s been suggested it could occur – not because of the mask itself, but more because wearing a mask for long periods of time, especially quite tight face masks, could end up drying out your mouth.
Most people tend to breathe through their mouth more, rather than their nose, when wearing a mask, which has a drying affect. This is more of a hypothesis, though.
Advertisement
As dental surgeon Dr Zainab Al-Mukhtar, from Harrow On The Hill Dental Practice, explains: “The oral issues associated with mask-wearing come from the tendency to breath through the mouth that some people feel the need to do while wearing a mask, along with the possibility of drinking less water and less mouth hydration. This is more likely to be the case with masks that are tightly fitted around the nose over a length of time.”
This dryness could increase the risk of tooth decay and bad breath.
Premyuda Yospim via Getty Images
Saliva is needed to keep the mouth healthy – and when wearing a mask, saliva can be reduced and your mouth might become more dry. Reduced salivary flow can lead to bacterial stagnation and a reduced pH in the mouth, says Dr Al-Mukhtar. “A low pH environment allows for bacteria responsible for tooth decay to thrive,” she adds.
There’s currently no evidence of tooth decay caused by wearing a mask, says Dr Robert Chaffe, a dentist at White & Co Dental. That said, if wearing a mask makes your mouth feel dry, this can increase the risk of tooth decay, he admits. Wearing a mask could cause bad breath if your mouth became dry, but it could also just be making you notice the smell of your own breath a bit more.
“I think anecdotally, wearing a face covering may highlight breath changes such as coffee breath, as the air is trapped between your mouth and nose,” says Dr Chaffe.
Advertisement
Anna Middleton, a dental hygienist and founder of London Hygienist, also points out that wearing a face mask has not been proven to exacerbate oral health conditions.
Someone who has any of these conditions – such as decaying teeth, receding gum lines or sour breath – “will have experienced these problems without wearing a mask,” she adds. “A mask cannot cause these issues directly.”
Face covers and masks are considered crucial in the fight against Covid-19.
Professor Damien Walmsley says claims on ‘mask mouth’ are “risible”. “East Asian societies – where face coverings have been ubiquitous for decades – are not confronting an epidemic of decay,” he points out.
“Dentists wear masks as a matter of course, and we’re not exactly at the front of the queue for extractions. If patients have seen a deterioration in their oral health, it makes more sense to look at lockdown diets and lack of access to dental services than to indulge in myth-making.”
Advertisement
The good news is that you’re not destined to have a mouth that feels like a desert and smells like a swamp. Experts agree you’d need to have a dry mouth for a significant length of time in order for your dental state to take a turn for the worse.
There are some simple ways to keep your mouth healthy. Here’s what dentists suggest:
Floss daily.
Drink plenty of water.
Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes. Use an electric toothbrush if possible and a fluoride toothpaste.
See a dentist and hygienist every six to 12 months.
Chew gum to help stimulate saliva flow.
Consider use of a fluoride mouthwash once per day.
Keep your mask clean (which goes without saying during a pandemic). Change your mask daily and wash reusable face covers on a hot wash (60 degrees and over) with detergent.
Avoid a high frequency of sugary snacks and drinks.
Brush your teeth after eating meals if you are prone to food trapping or stagnation.
Ultimately mask mouth is not something to worry about, says Dr Reena Wadia, a periodontist at RW Perio. “There are no dental health hazards of wearing a mask as long as you stay hydrated and keep up your dental home care regime.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--I Became A Cam Girl During Lockdown. I've Never Felt More Confident

jossdim via Getty Images
You’re reading Sex Diaries, a HuffPost UK Personal series about how we are (or aren’t) having sex. To share your story, get in touch on ukpersonal@huffpost.com.
I looked nervously at my overdraft. The UK had gone into lockdown, and people were losing their jobs left, right and centre. I had a narrow escape from redundancy last summer and feared my luck was about to run out. I was £700 in debt, and I had to act quickly.
Advertisement
Surely there was some way of turning faceless nudes into cash, I hoped.
Three months into lockdown, I struck gold, when I found a webcam agency online. It sounded too good to be true, with the agent promising that even the lowest earners could turn over a grand a month for very little work. But it was worth a shot.
While I’d managed to avoid being furloughed and was promised that my day job was secure, I jumped at the chance to come out of this apocalypse richer than I went in. Even at the best of times, my journalism and writing only pay so much. I’ve struggled with my mental health since I developed OCD in my early 20s. Camming now offered me not only an escape from my overdraft, but the means to pay the thousands required for a course of specialist therapy that isn’t available on the NHS.
“The girls who show their face full time can pull in as much as £7,000 a month,” the agent told me as I registered, “but I’d say you can make £300 a week for an hour or so a day.”
“I was nervous. I’d never faked an orgasm in my life, but you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Advertisement
I sent the agent my passport, nudes that never earned me a penny when they first were taken for exes, and he went through the basics with me over the phone. I was to smile and be nice to everyone (regular clients are the key to long-term success), and, most importantly, I had to remember that it is a fantasy: if a man wanted me to call him “daddy” or pretend to be a schoolgirl, it wasn’t necessarily an indication that he should be on a register. He had probably just seen too much porn.
I was nervous. I’d never faked an orgasm in my life, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I was soon given a wealth of acronyms to learn when clients began to check out the “new girl”—JOI (jerk-off instructions), COI (cum-eating introductions), and SPH (small penis humiliation).
One of my first memorable clients was a man who asked for CBT (cock and ball torture, naturally). The moment I answered the call, he pulled up a piece of card covered in nearly arranged lines of cocaine.
“Tell me to snort it,” he said.
I went along with it. He obliged. I hit a riding crop off my hand for a wonderful spanking effect. Then the unthinkable happened: he tied a belt around his genitals. As his penis turned purple, he bashed his testicles off a table.
“Harder,” I said. “If you can walk tomorrow, you’ve not done it hard enough.”
He returned for round two a week later. In that time, I’d made the £300-a-week I was predicted, and I’d had my first non-sexual clients. I thought I’d be getting paid to strip and masturbate, but in reality, that’s only what I’m asked for a fraction of the time.
Advertisement
“Sorry to be boring,” one user typed when the call began, “but I just want to talk.”
“Tell me about some of your craziest clients,” he continued. “You must have seen everything.” No prizes for guessing who I mentioned.
“Camming, like every job, has its downsides. I sometimes feel like a piece of meat...”
We spent the rest of the chat talking about classic rock and exchanging song recommendations. I felt bad that he was paying me just to talk, but when he explained what he did for a living, it was clear that he could afford it. Cam girls were his therapy.
“I’m married,” another client confessed, “and my wife’s away for a few days. I like coming here for some company.” Fair enough, I thought, running my hands over my breasts.
Camming, like every job, has its downsides. I sometimes feel like a piece of meat – compliments about the shape of my breasts, my vagina and derrière make me feel objectified, especially when I get comments like “you have a better body than my girlfriend”. I’ve also had concerning requests for age play and CNC (consensual non-consent), and I’ve been disturbed how common these fantasies are. But my agent has never forced me to do anything. I simply say no, and that’s enough.
Advertisement
I quickly began to value my time more than ever before because of camming. While I’ve had some wonderful relationships, I’ve had some nasty ones too. I’d have never stood for them if I’d known my company alone – and not my body – was worth £2 a minute. An unpleasant ex used to make fun of my breasts, claiming that they were too small, but I’ve had countless strangers praise them for being an ample addition to my petite frame.
This job has proved to me that I am a more social person than I ever gave myself credit for too. I’ve had virgins come to me ashamed about their lack of experience and I’ve reassured them that it is no bad thing, and I’ve lost count of the number of men I’ve assured that size really doesn’t matter. Camming has even increased my confidence in my ability to improve someone’s day when they simply come to me for a chat – I make it my mission to find out what a client wants and to give to them to the best of my ability. Sex work is work, after all, and I want to do a good job.
I don’t know how long I will cam for. It’s improving my life in the here and now, but I imagine that long-term it is likely to be unsustainable because of the effects it is slowly having on my opinion on some of my more disturbing clients. I don’t want to hate men, and I don’t want to be walking down the street imagining what run-of-the-mill strangers passing me by might say when protected by the anonymity of a webcam.
Silk bed sheets, designer shoes, and a therapist who is holding me to account for my OCD behaviour have helped me through quarantine. And ultimately, I’m coming out financially better off and more confident in my worth than I’ve ever been in my life.
Kate O’Kelly is a freelance journalist, writing under a pseudonym
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-08-21--Landlords Illegally Evicting Renters Despite Ban, Says Union

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Landlords are throwing renters out of their homes during the coronavirus pandemic despite the ban on evictions, a renters’ union has claimed.
Advertisement
Evictions have been suspended since the beginning of lockdown, and on Friday the government announced it would extend the ban until September 20 in an “11th hour U-turn” that has been welcomed by Labour.
But while landlords have been urged to “show compassion” to renters struggling to pay rent, London Renters Union organiser, Amina, argues it has not been enough. “Compassion doesn’t equal rights for renters,” she told HuffPost UK.
Amina is currently working with three separate renters who were illegally evicted during the pandemic under “really horrible circumstances”, but there are “definitely many, many more” people in similar situations across the country.
One member says she was forced out of her east London home in June – right in the midst of lockdown – after her request to pay rent electronically was denied and her landlord became “really aggressive”.
Advertisement
After trying to forcefully remove her on two occasions, Amina said, the landlord managed to convince the police his tenant was a lodger and as such could be evicted without a possession order. Faced with the threat of arrest, the renter found herself forced onto the streets. To date, her possessions remain in the house.
Amina described another even more shocking case in which a family was violently removed from their home by the landlord and his friends.
“The landlord didn’t want them to be there any more; he just wanted them out so he used physical force to remove them. Understandably, the family is traumatised by this experience.”
She added that people from Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities were particularly at risk of being taken advantage of. “Black and brown people are going to be hit harder by this crisis,” she added.
“Racist policies such as ‘right to rent’ have created a hostile environment and the perfect conditions for landlords to exploit tenants who are under undocumented or who have a precarious immigration status.”
Advertisement
Hundreds of thousands of tenants across England face eviction and potential homelessness. Matthew Horwood via Getty Images
The month-long reprieve will offer little relief to people who are facing homelessness and eviction, and Amina believes it could even act as a green light for landlords itching to force people out. “The delays have completely empowered landlords to take the situation in their own hands,” she said.
“Just this morning we had 10 members of our Lewisham branch out there in Elephant and Castle outside a person’s home resisting eviction, and so estate agent backed off straightaway.”
About 18,000 households across England have become legally homeless during the pandemic despite the nationwide ban on evictions, according to a report in the New Statesman. Those numbers include evicted tenants and lodgers, as well as people in short-term accommodation, rough sleepers and victims of domestic abuse.
A separate study conducted by homelessness charity Shelter found nearly 230,000 tenants across England are at risk of eviction once the ban is lifted.
Advertisement
By introducing “extension after extension” to the eviction ban, Amina says the government is merely “kicking the can down the road” instead of offering real support to struggling families – many of whom have been financially impacted by the pandemic.
“Every day I speak to renters who in some cases are having to make the choice between paying for a roof over their head and buying food. Some people have visited the food bank for the first time, which is an incredibly traumatising experience.
“Prior to this pandemic, people in this country were already two paycheques away from being behind on rent. Now each time the ban is extended they are left wondering: ‘Am I going to be evicted? Am I going to be homeless? What does my future look like?’