thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--I’m Gender Non-Conforming, And Dreading Using Public Toilets Again

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I still have flashbacks to that night out in my first year of uni where I was spat on because I was “in the wrong toilet”.
Since then, being afraid to use the toilet in public is something I’ve grown used to, as someone who is gender non-conforming, and shamelessly so. I’m small, have long hair and often wear makeup on nights out. But my hair and height alone are enough to trigger homophobic and transphobic behaviour, regardless of my actual gender.
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After that night I decided to no longer use men’s toilets on nights out – but on reflection though, I didn’t register how messed up that really was. When I got spat on, I didn’t even tell my friends until the night was over, instead essentially blocking it out. I remember the cubicle door shaking and slurs flung my way, but beyond that it’s all fuzzy.
I have too many of these stories for someone who is still only 21. But being gender non-conforming means I have to live knowing that I could experience that again, or worse, whenever I have to use single-sex toilets.
“I’m worried recent transphobic trends will have fostered a newfound hatred toward me and those of us who do not follow normative scripts of gender.”
Lockdown, though certainly not an enjoyable experience, has been a strange refuge for me, and likely many gender non-conforming people, because we haven’t had to anxiously rush into a toilet, hoping that both a cubicle will be free and that no one antagonistic is present. For months, I’ve been able to use the toilet without having to preempt violence. I haven’t been exposed to public indecency, followed, or stared at. I haven’t had to stress about whether I can hold it for that little bit longer. It’s been a relief – although a bittersweet one as lockdown ends as I know, soon enough, my anxiety about navigating this mundane necessity will surface once again.
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As lockdown restrictions begin to lift, public space will fill with people glibly attempting to maintain social distancing rules, wary of one another. Many will be anxious to re-emerge, and for very valid reasons – remembering how to interact with other human beings in public can be challenging when we’ve been so isolated for months.
But most people will have gone months without seeing or encountering a gender non-conforming person, and I’m worried recent transphobic trends will have fostered a newfound hatred toward me and those of us who do not follow normative scripts of gender.
I’ve briefly forgotten what it’s like to be harassed in public, and now the thought of using men’s toilets seems even worse than when I was used to it. I know I will encounter men who will stare at me in disdain, who might think it’s their place to tell me where I should and should not be. I know I will rush in and out of public toilets like I shouldn’t be there, even though I have a right to use the toilet safely. Maybe I will have to tie my hair back just so I’m not mistaken for a woman.
“The simple reality is that transgender and gender non-conforming people like me really just want to urinate in peace.”
All this comes amid an alarming assault against trans and gender non-conforming people everywhere. Only weeks ago, the US reversed healthcare rights for trans patients. In the UK, it is reported the government is unlikely to reform the Gender Recognition Act, making self-identification even harder. Only weeks ago, author JK Rowling instigated yet another debate about the existence of trans people. And this is not to mention Hungary’s end to legal recognition of transgender people, or the epidemic of murdered Black and brown trans women around the world.
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Such policy, and such discourse, is restricting trans people’s social mobility, deciding what spaces they can enter, and exacerbating the violence they experience. The lives of trans and gender non-conforming people will be increasingly more difficult as long as their identities remain continually questioned. Trans women are regularly framed as predators that single-sex spaces need protecting from, but we have all likely urinated in a cubicle next to a criminal and no one ever really knows who is in the same toilet as them. We must question why trans and gender non-conforming people are somehow the exception.
For me, public toilets have become places of discomfort and harassment. The simple reality is that transgender and gender non-conforming people like me really just want to urinate in peace. So, if you do emerge into public space, and you use the toilet, I ask that you proceed with empathy.
Luca Demetriou is a freelance writer and masters student. Follow them on Twitter at @aphroditus_
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated incorrectly that “women and equalities minister Liz Truss revealed her plans for the Gender Recognition Act”. The government is yet to respond to the consultation on proposed reform to the Gender Recognition Act.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--The Office Tea Round Is Dead, And We Mourn It With Mixed Emotions

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We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Nothing unites British office workers quite like a shared caffeine addiction, but Covid-19 has brought a new dawn of remote working and unprecedented hygiene standards.
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We waved goodbye to the silent 10am stand-off, where parched colleagues wait to see who’ll crack and offer that first bumper round. We haven’t whispered ‘anyone for tea?’ for months (half hoping not to be heard). And the impossible conundrum – juggle eight mugs and burn your hands as the scalding liquid sloshes the sides, or make four trips from the kitchen to the desk – is no more.
The office tea round is dead – and we mourn it with mixed emotions.
We used to internally grimace when anyone ordered anything that wasn’t plain builder’s – but now, Susan’s Earl Grey with soya and half a sugar isn’t looking so bad. In fact, we religiously committed preferences to memory and took pride in getting it right, it’s almost sad to see that knowledge become redundant.
What we won’t miss, however, is the pure disappointment when a colleague isn’t so conscientious – when you sip and realise they’ve forgotten your sugar, or an insipid substance is plopped under your nose.
The chipped, mismatched cups that never quite looked clean can also fade into the past, thank you very much. Ditto the questionably stained teaspoons.
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And nothing is more gutting than when the brew you were offered – right when you needed it – is forgotten, because your colleague got side-tracked with, well, actual work.
“The chipped, mismatched cups that never quite looked clean can fade into the past, thank you very much.”
But for all its faults, the tea round punctuated the working day into manageable chunks. It gave us the nudge we needed to look away from our screens and talk to one another about something other than work.
Those moments of shared giggles or united frustrations when a colleague ambled over to the kettle for a natter will be cherished. So too, will the times someone noticed you were stressed and delivered the perfect brew – no questions asked. And if someone offered you a chocolate digestive on a particularly tough day, you knew you’d made a friend for life.
Through a shared cuppa, you realise that somewhere between the endless meetings, tight deadlines, promotion successes and disappointments, you and your colleagues became firm allies.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Health Experts Want People To Know Face Covers Can Protect The Wearer Too

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We all know by now that wearing a face cover can help protect others from your germs, but there’s also evidence to suggest they might protect you as well.
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A study from the University of Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science found cloth face coverings, including homemade masks, are effective in reducing the spread of Covid-19. They are both effective for the wearer and those around them, said researchers.
Professor Melinda Mills, director of the Leverhulme Centre and author of the study, believes if more people understood wearing a mask could also protect themselves, it would increase people’s willingness to wear them.
“We found that the countries where mask use was the highest and most effective were the ones where people actually understood how masks work and that they protect the wearer and those around them,” she tells HuffPost UK.
“Understanding barriers, such as how to wear them, when and where to wear them and who cannot wear them, is key.”
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Their analysis, conducted on behalf of the Royal Society and British Academy, looked at existing studies that have compared the protection of the wearer who wore a cloth mask compared to those who didn’t wear a mask.
“We looked at cloth masks and not surgical masks or respirators, since cloth face coverings is what is being advised for wearing by the general public,” says Prof Mills. In total, they found four studies that looked at wearing cloth face masks versus not wearing masks at all.
Wearing a cotton mask was associated with a 54% lower risk of infection compared to the no-mask group. “It is not 100% protective but does reduce your odds,” says Prof Mills, who does add that the studies were conducted in health care settings in relation to SARS and swine flu (H1N1), so cannot be directly applied to Covid-19.
The study concluded that clear and consistent policies and public messaging are key to the adoption of wearing face masks and coverings by the general public, which might go some way to explaining why uptake in the UK has been so low. A YouGov poll from June found under a quarter (21%) of Brits wear a mask or cover when out in public.
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There’s plenty of evidence that DIY masks are useful at protecting the wearer, writes researcher Jeremy Howard in a separate report.
Effective protection depends on three “critical” things, says Howard. Firstly, material: does the mask filter particles of the appropriate sizes? Secondly, fit: could particles squeeze in through the gaps of your mask? And lastly, sanitation: can you clean and re-use the mask?
Prof Mills also looked at whether fabric and fit impacted protectiveness in her analysis and found the best face coverings were made from specific material such as high grade cotton or multiple layers, and needed to be fitted correctly.
Research on a variety of fabrics and patterns of face coverings has shown that tightly woven fabrics such as cotton, denim or tea cloths filter the best and that a combination of multiple layers is the most effective, while loosely woven fabrics like a scarf have been shown to be the least effective.
Attention must be placed on how well it fits on the face; it should loop around the ears or around the back of the neck for better coverage. Fit is super important regardless of what type of face cover you wear, as studies have shown that even if surgical masks have gaps at the sides or are not fitted correctly, they become less effective.
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Doctors are increasingly keen for members of the public to wear masks to protect themselves and those around them. A recent British Medical Association survey revealed 86% of more than 5,000 doctors agreed that mask-wearing should be mandated.
Dr David Strain, clinical senior lecturer at the University of Exeter and chair of the British Medical Association’s medical academic staff committee, tells HuffPost UK there is “a fair amount of evidence” that masks do protect both the wearer and the population.
“Multiple studies have evaluated the filtration effects of cloth masks relative to surgical masks,” he says, pointing out that most household materials can filter out larger droplets from speech.
“It can be reasonably expected that a well made three-ply [three-layer] cloth mask would perform just as well as a surgical mask in preventing transmission,” he says.
In terms of how it benefits the wearer, homemade cotton masks have been able to filter out 60% of particles, compared to the 75% filtered by surgical masks, he says. “This would suggest neither would provide optimal protection to an individual, although each still do offer some protection from becoming infected.”
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There have been worries that if people do wear face covers they may become complacent and not follow social distancing guidelines or wash hands – experts stress these measures need to be followed as well.
It’s also important to remember that some people cannot wear masks due to medical reasons, while others may be disadvantaged by mass mask-wearing, such as those dependant on lip-reading. For these individuals, moving to the safer distance of 2m and removing the mask in order to facilitate communication, or the use of masks with a clear panel are an alternative, suggests Dr Strain.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--Here's What It's Like To Live With A Tracheostomy

Courtesy of Ginny Butcher The author at her law school graudation.
For some of you, having a hole in your neck may sound like something out of a horror movie. For me, it’s a means of survival.
I have a tracheostomy, or a “trache”; it’s a hole in my trachea, in which a plastic tube sits to create an artificial airway, and then the tube is connected to a ventilator.
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I have muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that causes my muscles to progressively weaken. As a child, I had severe scoliosis of the spine, to the extent that my lungs were being gradually crushed by my curved torso. Eventually, I needed surgery to straighten my spine, and the surgeons told my parents that I wouldn’t survive the operation without having a trache inserted.
I was 11 when I got my trache, and for a number of years, I found it really hard to deal with. It used to block up and I would suddenly be unable to breathe. After getting the trache, I had to get used to my chest making loud noises randomly during classes. When it would happen, I’d have to rush out of the room, often embarrassed. I also had to get used to people staring. I once went to a Doctor Who exhibition, and, as I entered the gift shop, all the children (and adults) stared and whispered because they thought I was a monster from the exhibit.
It’s challenging to look different when you’re young. Making friends is hard, and as a disabled child, it’s harder — and then when you’re a child with a trache and ventilator, it’s even harder. I always felt isolated, and it made me grow up very quickly and with few friends.
“It’s challenging to look different when you’re young. I always felt isolated, and it made me grow up very quickly and with few friends.”
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Having an artificial airway requires a lot of maintenance. Most people with traches need to change their tube maybe once a fortnight or even once a month, but for me, it’s daily. Changing it is not painful at all ― one tube just slides out and a fresh tube takes its place ― but it is an odd sensation. You could liken the whole thing to clipping your toenails, a boring job that needs to be done and feels a little strange.
I also need to schedule time in my life for things that help keep my trache tube clear and free from secretions. I have a cough assist machine, which connects to my tube and helps me cough and dislodge any blockages. And my suction machine is literally a tiny vacuum that I can feed down into my trache tube to suck out any secretions. These machines are so loud that when I turn them on at night, my whole house shakes. Friends and family never want to sleep in the same hotel room with me when we travel because my ventilator and all of these machines make a lot of noise. Any future partners of mine have got to be heavy sleepers.
I come with a lot of baggage. We’re talking three bags of machines with me at all times, plus some spare ventilator batteries stashed somewhere. At my high school prom, the DJ’s music was so loud that I didn’t hear my ventilator beeping. It died suddenly and I didn’t have a spare battery nearby, so I lost consciousness. I’ve never traveled without spare batteries again.
There are other things about having a trache that aren’t that great. Like the fact that I get a lot of carbon dioxide headaches in the morning when my breathing changes throughout the night (it’s like waking up with a hangover). Or the fact that when I cry, it makes my trache and my nose block up with secretions.
But (and this is a big but) — I’m 22 now, and I’ve realised that living with a hole in my neck isn’t the end of the world and that my trache and ventilator don’t often hold me back.
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I have just completed my master’s degree to become a lawyer in the U.K. I have done things many non-disabled people still haven’t done. I’ve been rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing and zip lining, all with my ventilator strapped to my body. I have flown a plane and completed a half marathon and acted in a professional play.
Before I had my trache put in, I was using a noninvasive ventilator. This meant that my ventilator connected to a face mask, which covered my nose and mouth. For some people, this works well, but for me, it was detrimental. I couldn’t eat without taking my mask off (and then would be short of breath), so I just didn’t eat. I became dangerously thin and I had to have a feeding tube inserted. The mask also made it difficult for me to speak and be heard.
Now I can eat and speak to my heart’s content. Thanks to having a trache, I don’t need a feeding tube anymore, and I really enjoy public speaking now, which is lucky if you consider my chosen career path. My trache has actually improved my quality of life dramatically.
Not to mention, now I have friends! My best friend asked me if he could be trained in how to manage my trache and ventilator. We can now go on trips together, and we went to a Pride festival last summer. He accepts and actively tries to help me with all aspects of my disability.
“I’m a young woman, living my best life, about to become a lawyer, and I have a trache and ventilator. My tubes and machines have not taken anything away from me.”
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There’s also some fun to be had when you have a trache. I don’t breathe through my nose or mouth, so I can technically drink without pausing. This makes me the absolute best at downing pints.
My ventilator pipe lies on my body and can act as a great accessory. I dressed up as a Christmas tree once, so my pipe was glittered and wrapped in tinsel.
And, it gives me the crème de la crème of escape clauses: If I want to get out of something, I just say “the trache is causing me trouble,” and people feel so awkward they don’t question it. Sweet.
I’d be lying if I said that my trache doesn’t still impact my life. I often worry my trache will block up, or the ventilator will pop off at an inopportune moment. But I’ve had a trache for half of my life now.
People often talk about how they would never want to live a life with tubes coming out of their body or attached to machines. Many medical professionals say that these things decrease your quality of life, and this perspective can lead to people choosing (or being pressured into choosing) death rather than a life filled with tubes and machines. This choice is a completely personal one.
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However, let me tell you that my life, and the lives of countless other disabled people, have been vastly improved by invasive tubes and machines. I’m a young woman, living my best life, about to become a lawyer, and I have a trache and ventilator. My tubes and machines have not taken anything away from me.
The opposite is true: They have given me my good health, independence and voice. In a funny kind of way, I owe a lot of my happiness to having my trache and ventilator.
This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-15--'I Tore My Labia During Birth. I Tore Everything. We Need To Talk About This'

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In HuffPost Birth Diaries we hear the extraordinary stories of the everyday miracle of birth. This week, Misha Clarke shares her story. If you’d like to share yours, email amy.packham@huffpost.com.
My pregnancy was smooth – I just had the odd symptoms of sickness early on, and heartburn near the end. I used to love watching birth programmes on telly – so I knew of the different outcomes! Educating myself on every possibility was important to me. I’d Google things, read the NHS website, ask the midwife lots of questions.
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My mum was also very open about her birth – she told me about the tearing she’d experienced with me and my brother. I researched it and found out that perineal massage can be good at reducing the risk of tearing in childbirth – but I didn’t feel confident enough about it to do it properly, or without the help of my partner who was away six days a week.
Despite all my research, I still had a birth I didn’t know could happen. I didn’t, for example, realise your waters could break before your contractions.
It was 13 days before my due date. At around 6am, I woke up because I felt a weird sensation. I turned to the side and my waters broke, which shocked me... I hadn’t even had any pain yet! My contractions started after, and the pain slowly got worse. I went into the hospital during this time – twice – but they told me both times I wasn’t dilated enough and to come back when I really couldn’t handle it.
They said if I hadn’t progressed, they’d call me. And they did – 24 hours after my waters first broke. When I went in, I was 3-4cm dilated so they decided to induce me (there’s a higher chance of infection the longer you are in labour after your waters have broken). I had an epidural and was put on a hormone drip.
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At one point the drip was too high and my contractions were coming too quickly, and then it was too low and they weren’t coming quick enough. It was back and forth, back and forth. Exhausting, draining, exhausting, draining.
After 40 hours of labour, I got the urge to push. Just this feeling. But the midwife told me not to push for at least an hour to let him come down the birth canal, so I followed her instructions. Even when I was ready, it took a while. Push, push, push for the hour. Nothing was happening, he wasn’t coming down. Then in the last 20 minutes, he started to make progress. And even with the epidural, I still felt that so-called “ring of fire” when my son came out.
I was euphoric – almost like he gave me a new lease of life. I didn’t care about all the pushing and exhaustion. When he was passed to me, I didn’t notice anything else in the room except Cade. I held him for a few minutes, then they asked if I could pass him to my partner, Kori, so they could stitch me up.
It was at this point that I slowly learned that I’d torn – quite badly.
The midwife had started to stitch me up, but then she had to get the head midwife, who had to go get another doctor. Lots of people came in. A doctor laid out all the trays with the kit on. It seemed serious.
I tore my perineum to the third degree, I tore my labia, I tore my urethra next to it and I did tear some places in my vaginal wall as well. They were down there for over an hour sewing me up.
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They used anaesthetic, but I felt all the pain. I held my mum’s hand, squeezing it dead tight, because it was so uncomfortable. Holding my breathe when he did it, taking a breathe when he’d finished each stitch. It felt like it went on forever.
I stayed in hospital for a few days, so they could examine me and help me with breastfeeding. When I went home, they told me to use a jug of lukewarm water and pour it down there when I had a wee to ease the pain, which helped a little. I also used a pillow to relieve the pressure when sitting.
For a few months, walking or sitting or moving around caused great discomfort, so it was a relief when that pain started to ease.
It shouldn’t be a taboo to talk about tearing and the intricacies of what happens after birth – there needs to be open discussions so women can talk about it, get support and get help.
My birth advice? I’d advise any woman who tears to use the lukewarm water when they’re weeing. I also bought a spray, where you spray it on to toilet paper and dab it on and that helped – it was called “spritz for bitz” and it was actually a present I got my friend who had a baby in April – it was almost cooling, and great for those few days after giving birth.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-14--5 Things An Independent Inquiry Into Boris Johnson's Coronavirus Response Might Want To Consider

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When this will take place has not yet been announced, which makes sense given the crisis is far from over. But one of the highest death tolls in the world and a series of missteps by the government mean it will have plenty to examine.
Here are five things so far that it may want to consider...
The original lockdown
The UK announced a national lockdown on March 23, the same date as Germany but more than a week after many other European countries.
Where the UK lagged even farther behind was in the introduction of even basic restrictions – it was the second-to-last country in Europe to do so when on March 16 it advised against “non-essential” travel and contact with others, and asked people to avoid pubs, clubs and bars.
Statista
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What was the cost of this delay? It’s impossible to say for certain what would have happened if lockdown was introduced earlier as no two countries are exactly alike – but the fact the UK has the highest death toll in Europe and the third highest in the world suggests the effects were pretty devastating.
Last month a scientific adviser to the government said the lack of speed “cost a lot of lives” and the government should have taken action earlier.
"We should have gone into lockdown earlier… I think that has cost a lot of lives unfortunately," says SAGE member Professor John Edmunds#Marr #Covid_19 https://t.co/Uug1h8EmWX pic.twitter.com/nhHj56z5V5 — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 7, 2020
Even more damning was when professor John Edmunds, who sits on the government’s scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage), said it would have been “hard” to lock down earlier as the government’s data and awareness of coronavirus was “really quite poor”.
But health secretary Matt Hancock insisted in response the government made the “right decisions at the right time”.
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Face masks
The government’s decision on Tuesday to make face masks mandatory in supermarkets has been met with dismay as the new rules, which some already see as long overdue, will not come into effect until July 24.
In an interview with Sky News on Tuesday, London mayor Sadiq Khan said the “U-turn from the government is welcome news”, but added: “Time and time again slow action has put the public’s health at risk. Why wait two weeks? Why not do it from today?”
Or as one person put it:
There are scorpions all over my floor. So I must make sure I wear shoes in the house from July 24th. — Mark Steel (@mrmarksteel) July 14, 2020
Contact tracing
Public Health England abandoned contact tracing way back on March 12 when the system was already overwhelmed. It was later revealed each contact tracer could only handle five cases per week.
But right from the get go, contact tracing was acknowledged as an essential tool for overcoming the pandemic – countries that persisted and introduced sufficient capacity such as South Korea have fared much better than the UK.
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A nationwide “test, track and trace” system with a dedicated app was touted for a mid-May launch, but mid-May came and went with neither materialising.
On May 20, Boris Johnson announced the NHS Test and Trace system would be up and running by June 1 and the app would swiftly follow.
It is now July and although Test and Trace is up and running, its effectiveness is still up for debate. Last week just 70% of “close contacts” of people with Covid-19 were being reached and asked to self isolate, on top of which the government doesn’t actually know whether anyone is following the instructions.
As for the app, on June 18 the government abandoned the plans, instead allowing Apple and Google to take over the project.
Leicester
As the rest of England geared up for the partial reopening of pubs and restaurants at the beginning of July, the city of Leicester was told it would have to endure restrictions for at least three further weeks after a spike in coronavirus cases.
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As well as the inconvenience, the move caused a political storm after the PM was accused of lying when it emerged Leicester had to wait days for the numbers before being locked down.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said there was a “lost week” while the virus spread in the East Midlands city – after Matt Hancock warned of an outbreak during a press conference on June 18, but before Leicester City Council was able to access the data that actually showed it happening.
Keir Starmer says Leicester's local authority had half the testing data until last week, so there was "a lost week while the virus was spreading"
Boris Johnson says Starmer is "mistaken" and "effective whack-a-mole strategies have been put in place"#PMQs https://t.co/wdMJe7evO2 pic.twitter.com/vM61HLK6Cf — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 1, 2020
Johnson disputed this and insisted local authorities had been sent both types of data, but was accused of lying by a number of MPs and health professionals who said that other places had also had difficulty obtaining the data.
The long-term effects of the delay are yet to be seen but while the city’s rate of new Covid-19 cases has fallen from its recent peak, it is not declining steadily, the latest data suggest.
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Quarantine
Given that coronavirus arrived in the UK via an infected aeroplane passenger sometime in January, it is remarkable the UK government didn’t announce a quarantine for people coming into the country from abroad until May 22.
And it didn’t come into force until June 8.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Lloyd Russell-Moyle Quits Labour Frontbench And Blames 'Right-Wing Media'

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle. Simon Dawson / Reuters
A Labour MP has hit out at the “right-wing media” after resigning as a member of the party’s frontbench.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kempton and Peacehaven, said he had been the victim of a “torrent of online hate” as he stepped down as a shadow environment minister.
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His departure from the shadow front benches is the latest exit of an ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Russell-Moyle last month apologised for the comments he made about JK Rowling in a row about trans rights.
On Thursday, he wrote: “It is with regret I leave the shadow ministry, owing to a campaign by right-wing media my position has become untenable.
“I shall return to backbenches for the time being to support Keir in defending and furthering the manifesto we stood on and to achieve a Labour government.”
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This afternoon I spoke to Keir and asked to step back from the front bench duties as Minister for Air Quality and the Natural Environment but remain a Labour and Co-operative MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.
See my statement below. 👇 pic.twitter.com/g1I8T7QLVg — Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP🌹🇪🇺🏳🌈 (@lloyd_rm) July 16, 2020
In his statement he also wrote the media had “unleashed a torrent of online hate and daily calls of harassment to my office, which has exposed those who work for me to abuse that would not be acceptable in any workplace”.
“It is my job to get political flack, but it is not the job of caseworkers, researchers and assistants to be attacked,” he added.
“It has also led to hounding and stress, from which I need a few weeks to support my team and myself to collectively recover.”
Last month, Russell-Moyle apologised “unreservedly” after accusing JK Rowling of using her history of sexual abuse as a justification for discriminating against transgender people.
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Lloyd Russell-Moyle sparked anger with comments in an article in Tribune magazine in which he described the Harry Potter author’s disclosure as part of a “divide and rule” tactic to undermine efforts to secure rights for trans people.
But he later admitted he was “wrong” to suggest that she was not acting in good faith when going public over her experience of domestic abuse.
Earlier this week, Russell-Moyle apologised after it emerged that he had made comments on social media in which he called Zionism a “dangerous nationalist idea” and accused Israel of terrorism. The comments, revealed by the Sunday Times, were made before he became an MP in 2017.
Keir Starmer, who replaced Corbyn after the party’s disastrous general election, thanked Russell-Moyle for his work as minister for air quality and the natural environment.
A Labour spokesman said: “Keir thanked Lloyd for his hard work on the frontbench and wished him well in his plans for the coming months to focus on housing and youth services.”
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Russell-Moyle did not specify the details of any apparent campaign against him or the abuse he has suffered.
As Starmer tries to restore Labour’s reputation with the Jewish community, the Jewish Labour Movement criticised Russell-Moyle this week for having attracted “constant controversy in relation to anti-Semitism”.
The socialist society affiliated to the party listed numerous criticisms including of “his very public defence” of Chris Williamson, the former MP suspended from Labour for claiming it was “too apologetic” on anti-Semitism.
Last month, Starmer sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey as shadow education secretary after she shared an article containing an alleged anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
Labour frontbenchers denied a purge was taking place against the party left after the end of Corbyn’s leadership.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Matt Hancock Accused Of 'Rewriting History' Over Lockdown Date

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Health secretary Matt Hancock stands accused of trying to “twist the truth” over the coronavirus lockdown after a top scientist revealed the government was advised to bring in full measures days earlier.
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Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific officer (CSO), said the government was told on either March 16 or 18 that the “remainder of the measures should be introduced as soon as possible”.
At the time, the Covid-19 “doubling time had gone down to three days”, Vallance said.
While schools were closed and social distancing advice was issued between March 16 and 18, Boris Johnson did not order a full lockdown until March 23, when he said in a televised address: “I must give the British people a very simple instruction – you must stay at home.”
Hancock was taken to task by Labour in the Commons and now faces claims he is trying to “rewrite history” over the date when lockdown was imposed.
He said: “Of course March 16 is the day I came to this House and said all unnecessary social contact should cease.
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“That is precisely when the lockdown was started.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sources close to Hancock point out that records of meetings of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), the government scientists, rather than “all remaining measures” call for “additional measures” to be introduced on March 16.
A number of experts and political opponents, however, have said ministers were too slow to issue a full lockdown, however, and that more lives were lost as a result.
Following calls for Hancock to offer answers from shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana said “advising people to socially distance is not the same as imposing a lockdown”, adding: “That week-long delay could have cost thousands of lives.”
But Hancock doubled down, hitting back: “She’s trying again… on March 16 I said to this House, and it was welcomed by the front bench opposite, ‘today we’re advising people against all unnecessary social contact with others and all unnecessary travel’.
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“That is when the lockdown truly started.”
Shadow justice secretary David Lammy is among those levelling criticism at Hancock online.
He tweeted: “Matt Hancock is trying to claim Lockdown started on March 16 even though it was not imposed until March 23.
“The Tories want to rewrite history because they were too slow to act – with disastrous consequences. The government must learn from its mistakes, not twist the truth.”
ITV’s Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan described the March 16 claim a “bare-faced lie”.
Unbelievable.. @MattHancock is now claiming the UK locked down on March 16, not 23. This is a demonstrable bare-faced lie to try to disguise the fact we locked down so woefully late & it cost so many 1000s of lives. Even by our Health Secretary’s standards, this is shameful. — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 16, 2020
Labour MP Bill Esterston added: Hancock says he followed the Sage advice to lockdown on 16 March. So why wasn’t full lockdown implemented for another week?”
Vallance had told the Commons’ science and technology committee earlier on Thursday: “When the SAGE sub-group on modelling SPI-M (Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling) saw that the doubling time had gone down to three days, which was in the middle of March, that is when the advice that SAGE issued was the remainder of measures should be introduced as soon as possible.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--BAME People Who Have Coronavirus Should Not Be Stigmatised, Lisa Nandy Says

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Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people with coronavirus should not be stigmatised, a shadow cabinet minister said ahead of the publication of postcode-level data on those who have tested positive.
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Ministers are pushing ahead with the release of data despite councils’ concerns that the plan, originally revealed by HuffPost UK, could lead to people in certain neighbourhoods being stigmatised and damage community cohesion.
Lisa Nandy said that the country needs to have “a conversation” about how coronavirus is affecting BAME communities, amid suggestions that south Asian populations in places such as Leicester and Blackburn are bearing the brunt of new infections.
And she stressed that the “key thing” was “making the data available to those who need it”, including local public health directors.
But Nandy suggested the government could learn from South Korea’s approach, where after initial issues with social stigma those who self isolate are now hailed by the state as heroes.
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The shadow foreign secretary also revealed that the local public health director for her Wigan constituency was against the kind of street-by-street lockdown measures proposed by some in light of postcode-level data.
She told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast: “What you absolutely cannot do is stigmatise people who test positive for Covid.
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
“They have to feel that they can be as forthcoming as possible with people who are trying to trace and that they’re not going to stigmatise other people – friends and family that they have been in contact with – so they share that information and so that, then, people are able to follow these guidelines without then feeling it’s going to have a negative impact on them.
“The South Koreans, who dealt with this very early on, that is the absolute number one lesson that they said came out of it.
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“When they go in and do local lockdowns, they put out press releases saying these people are heroes, they are sacrificing for the national interest.
“My concern is that what we’re seeing in Britain is a very different approach when the government isn’t doing very much of that work and what we could end up with is a situation where people from Leicester or people from particular streets are being stigmatised for the fact they’ve got Covid and being punished for it.”
Nandy stressed that there is already evidence to show BAME people fare worse than others once they contract the virus, but they also may be at higher risk because they are more likely to work in frontline jobs where they are in contact with lots of other people.
She accused the government of being “very slow” to recognise the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME people, women and children who may suffer mental health problems in the wake of lockdown measures.
“There is definitely a conversation that we need to have, that we’ve been trying to have in the Labour party,” she said.
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“We’ve asked Doreen Lawrence to lead a piece of work looking at the different impact for BAME communities of Covid.
“From a local perspective... there’s definitely an issue, it feels like there’s an issue about predisposition to Covid.
“The scientific evidence that we do have out there shows that BAME groups are certainly much more impacted when they get it, if not more likely to get it, so that’s a problem.
“There’s also an economic element to go alongside the racial aspect of this as well.
“If you are more likely to be working on the frontline on trains, the buses, in a care home, it’s often frontline and fairly low-paid work that people in BAME communities end up doing because frankly we’ve got structural discrimination in this country.
“There are huge issues around that just need to be properly explored.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Government Relaxes Leicester's Local Lockdown

Speaking on Thursday morning, Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby claimed the local coronavirus outbreak was being dramatically driven down.
Soulsby claimed data provided to city officials highlighted that only 10% of Leicester had seen higher transmission rates.
He told BBC Radio Leicester the government had got local people into a “messy situation” by its handling of the restrictions.
Asked what his reaction would be if the government announced a further two-week lockdown, Soulsby said: “I think if we are told that, there are going to be an awful lot of Leicester people who are very angry indeed.
“It was quite clear that it was a political decision taken without the advice of Public Health England to take us into this lockdown in the first place.
“It’ll be a political decision to let us out and the sooner that political decision is taken, the better.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Grayling Fails As Russia Threat Looms Large, With Lisa Nandy MP

Grayling Fails As Russia Threat Looms Large, With Lisa Nandy MP
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss Russia, China, why BAME people with coronavirus should not be stigmatised and Keir Starmer’s first 100 days as Labour leader.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--UK Coronavirus Outcome 'Not Good', Says Patrick Vallance

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The outcome of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK “has not been good” and the disease is likely to return in a number of “different waves”, the government’s chief scientific adviser said.
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Patrick Vallance told MPs on Thursday there was also a “very high likelihood” there will be an increase in cases this winter.
Speaking to the Commons science committee, he said it would have been “absolutely preferable” to have much greater testing capacity earlier in the pandemic.
Vallance told MPs in March that a death toll of around 20,000 people in the UK would be a “good outcome”.
The latest figures from the Department for Health and Social Care show at least 45,119 people have died having tested positive for Covid-19, but the true figure is likely much higher taking into account people who have died with suspected cases, or as a result of the pandemic stretching health services. UK excess deaths, considered the most reliable measure of an illness’s true death toll, are in the region of 65,000 since the virus broke out.
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“It’s clear that the outcome has not been good in the UK. I think you can be absolutely clear about that,” Vallance said today.
“There will be decisions made that will turn out not to have been the right decisions at the time.”
Vallance said the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) had advised on March 16 that a full lockdown be introduced “as soon as possible”.
Boris Johnson imposed a full nationwide lockdown on March 23.
Vallance added today: “It would have been absolutely preferable to have much greater testing capacity early on.
“But it’s not just testing – it’s basic information flows around patients in hospitals, around rates of admission, around rates of movement. Those sorts of things are important parts of this as well.”
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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Asked about the potential of a second wave, Vallance said what is usually meant by this is a re-emergence of the first wave.
“All we have done is suppress the first wave and when you take the brakes off you would expect it to come back,” he said.
He told MPs there was a “very high likelihood” that there would be an increase in cases in the winter.
“You could argue that is the tail end of the first wave still,” he said.
“And I think it is quite probable that we will see this virus coming back in different waves over a number of years.”
Vallance also said he saw “absolutely no reason” to change the advice that people should work from home if their companies were able to function well in those circumstances. The government has come under fire in recent days for muddled messaging around the issue, with justice secretary Robert Buckland telling people to “work from home if you can” but also “come back to work”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Who Is Tony Sewell, The Controversial Head of The Government's New Racial Disparity Commission?

Tony Sewell Downing Street
Tony Sewell has been confirmed by the government as the chair of the newly-established Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
Boris Johnson announced the establishment of the commission after a series of anti-racism protests on British streets triggered by the US police killing of George Floyd while in custody.
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Sewell will be joined by nine others in the group, comprised of representatives from the fields of science, education, broadcasting, economics, medicine, policing and community organising. They will look to deliver a report on race disparity within the health, education, criminal justice and employment sectors by the end of this year.
But the new head of the commission has faced criticism for his views in the past, describing any evidence of institutional racism as “flimsy”, and concerns have already been raised regarding his suitability for the role.
Who is Tony Sewell?
A former teacher and international education consultant, Sewell had previously worked with Boris Johnson in 2013 when he led the then-London mayor’s education inquiry into the city’s schools, which resulted in the creation of the London schools excellence fund.
He is currently head of education charity Generating Genius, which works with children from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities to prepare them for careers and university study in science and technology. He has also been a board member for both the Science Museum and the Youth Justice Board, a fellow at University College London, and sat on the Windrush working group.
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Alongside his work in education, Sewell has worked as a columnist and author.
His writing and speaking engagements have long focused on issues of race and education, with some of his published views attracting controversy.
Why is his appointment controversial?
Writing in Prospect magazine in 2010, Sewell said: “Much of the supposed evidence of institutional racism is flimsy.”
In an interview with the Times newspaper last year, the former teacher suggested that the root cause of knife crime and gang culture among Black youths was absent fathers, citing figures showing that about 50% of Black children grow up without a father.
“People often say I’m ‘brave’ to say that. It’s so patronising,” he told the paper.
Concerns have been raised about his views in the wake of the news of his appointment, with Suresh Grover – a campaigner who heads up the Monitoring Group, which helps victims of racial violence – telling The Guardian: “The appointment of Tony Sewell as the chair of the government’s new commission on race disparity confirms a widely held view within the UK’s BAME communities that its establishment is simply paying lip service to [the] deeply entrenched systemic problem of racism that exists within state institutions.
“It can now be regarded as a deeply hurtful and cynical exercise that has buried all hope for any meaningful and positive change for race relations in the UK.”
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A spokesperson of the Muslim Council of Britain published a statement after Sewell’s appointment was made public, writing: “The composition of this commission tells us that the government intends to row back work done by previous governments to tackle racial disparities.”
STATEMENT | MCB Responds to Appointment of Dr Tony Sewell to Chair Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities | 16 July 2020 pic.twitter.com/YpRlCHFreI — MCB (@MuslimCouncil) July 16, 2020
Meanwhile Dr Zubaida Haque, interim director of the Runnymede Trust, tweeted a 2019 clip of Sewell appearing on Channel 5 News, adding: “Some fun facts about Tony Sewell who will be heading the governments race disparity commission: Sewell believes that Black single mothers don’t have the ‘strong arm’ to raise boys; school lessons are too ‘feminised’ for boys and African-Caribbean ‘youth culture’ is ‘anti-intellectual.’”
Some fun facts about Tony Sewell who will be heading the govt's race disparity commission: Sewell believes that black single mothers don't have the "strong arm" to raise boys; school lessons are too "feminised" for boys and African-caribbean "youth culture" is "anti-intellectual" https://t.co/XWQHSoIdyX — Dr Zubaida Haque (@Zubhaque) July 16, 2020
BBC saying education charity boss Tony Sewell will head government's race commission. I'm not very familiar with him, but looking at his Telegraph comment pieces, he would seem on board with Munira Mirza's idea that structural racism isn't an issue. pic.twitter.com/9pgLVkRgzu — Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) July 16, 2020
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What has Downing Street said?
Downing Street has defended the appointment, despite Sewell’s previous claim that evidence of the existence of institutional racism was “flimsy”.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The PM’s view is that he has asked the commission to examine inequality in the UK across the whole population and he is very pleased to have assembled a group of talented and diverse commissioners who each bring a wealth of experience from across a range of important sectors.
“In terms of Dr Sewell CBE, he has supported many young people from diverse backgrounds into Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.
“The PM knows very well his work and how it has improved access to education across London.
“The PM is confident that he shares his commitment to maximising opportunity for all.”
Who are the other commissioners?


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Postcode-Level Covid Data Will Be Published – Despite Fears It Could Stigmatise People

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Postcode-level data on how many people have tested positive for coronavirus is set to be published by the government.
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Detailed figures from across England will be accessible to the public through an interactive map, although homes of people who have coronavirus will not be identifiable.
The data will initially be published weekly, with the government aiming to update the figures on a daily basis at a later date.
Public health professionals across each region will also be provided with positive test data and contract tracing figures every day.
Local authorities have raised concerns that the government’s plan to make public postcode-level testing data, a plan originally revealed by HuffPost UK, could lead to people in certain neighbourhoods or areas becoming stigmatised.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Russian Hackers Targeted UK Coronavirus Vaccine Research, Says Government

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Hackers linked to the Russian intelligence services tried to access UK coronavirus vaccine research, the British government has said.
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Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said the actions of the Russian spy agencies was “completely unacceptable”.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) revealed on Thursday the group know as APT29 had targeted UK, US and Canadian vaccine research and development organisations.
It said the hackers “almost certainly operate as part of Russian Intelligence Services”.
NCSC director of operations, Paul Chichester, said: “We condemn these despicable attacks against those doing vital work to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
“Working with our allies, the NCSC is committed to protecting our most critical assets and our top priority at this time is to protect the health sector.
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“We would urge organisations to familiarise themselves with the advice we have published to help defend their networks.”
Raab added: “It is completely unacceptable that the Russian Intelligence Services are targeting those working to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
“While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behaviour, the UK and its allies are getting on with the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health.
“The UK will continue to counter those conducting such cyber attacks, and work with our allies to hold perpetrators to account.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The NCSC said the group’s campaign of “malicious activity” was aimed predominantly at government, diplomatic, think-tank, healthcare and energy targets in an attempt to steal valuable intellectual property.
It has previously warned that APT (standing for advanced persistent threat) groups have been targeting organisations involved in both national and international Covid-19 research.
APT29 is said to use a variety of tools and techniques, including spear-phishing and custom malware known as “WellMess” and “WellMail”.
The announcement came shortly after the British government revealed it believed “Russian agents” tried to influence the 2019 general election by promoting a leaked paper on the UK-US trade negotiations.
The Commons Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) also announced today it will next week publish its report into Russian interference in the election.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Lorraine Kelly Digs Herself A Hole With Awkward Cats Film Comment During Bonnie Langford Interview

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Lorraine Kelly was forced to dig herself out of a hole during an interview with Bonnie Langford.
During a chat with the former EastEnders star, Lorraine slated the recent big-screen adaptation of Cats, seemingly not realising Bonnie’s niece actually appeared in it.
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Bonnie starred in the original stage production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical during the 1980s and 90s, which came up in conversation during the interview on Lorraine’s ITV breakfast show.
Lorraine Kelly interviewed Bonnie Langford on her show ITV
After watching a clip of a recent video made in lockdown featuring over 300 former cast members – including Bonnie – recreating one of the musical’s dance numbers, Lorraine accidentally put her foot in it when she commented: “I have to say, watching that tiny little clip of your production of Cats… Heck of a lot better than the film. Crikey, wasn’t that a bad one?”
Awkwardly, Bonnie then revealed that her niece Zizi Strallen had appeared alongside the likes of Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson and James Corden as Tantomile in the film.
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“Well, I have to be... I have to be positive because my niece was in it,” she said.
As a still from the film was then shown on screen, Bonnie added: “In fact I think that might be her on the left, I can’t recognise her.”
Bonnie's niece Zizi Strallen appeared in Cats ITV
Backtracking on her previous comment slightly, Lorraine then said: “Can I say, she was brilliant but the rest of it was not so good. But she was fabulous!’
Bonnie added: “If it means people will go and see the show afterwards, I’m actually for it. Any kind of entertainment.
“If we can keep ourselves going, and keep theatre going, then we can all be back together.”
Viewers on Twitter relished in the awkwardness of it all...
Absolutely savage moment on @Lorraine slagging off #catsmovie to Bonnie Langford, who’s Niece is in the film 😂🙈 Absolute floor swallow moment #awks #doyourresearch — Samuel Thomas #BlackLivesMatter 🤎✊🏽✊🏿✊🏾 (@UKSamuelThomas) July 16, 2020
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Lorraine slating the Cats movie only for Bonnie Langford to say her niece was in it 😂 #lorraine — Kelly (@kelam1903) July 16, 2020
Lorraine walked right into that one didn’t she? 🤣 Slating the film Cats and then Bonnie saying her niece was in it! 😳 #lorraine — Charlotte Farrugia (@ChafLovesCheese) July 16, 2020
To be fair to Lorraine, Cats was mauled by critics upon its release in December, while Judi Dench and James Corden both later admitted they had yet to actually watch it in full.
Judi also slated the outfit her character Old Deuteronomy was made to wear, saying it was “like five foxes fucking on my back”.
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She told Vogue she hoped she would look elegant in her costume, but instead resembled “a battered, mangy old cat”.
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Russians 'Tried To Influence UK General Election' By Pushing Leaked US Trade Report Used By Jeremy C

Russians 'Tried To Influence UK General Election' By Pushing Leaked US Trade Report Used By Jeremy Corbyn

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Russians tried to influence the 2019 British general election by “amplifying” a leaked document on UK-US trade that ended up being highlighted by Jeremy Corbyn, the government has claimed. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said that the intelligence assessment was that “Russian actors” - a way of describing hostile hackers as opposed to Moscow’s intelligence agencies - had “almost certainly” sought to interfere by “amplifying” the documents online. Former Labour leader Corbyn seized on the documents in December to claims that they proved that the Tories were hatching a trade deal with Donald Trump to “sell off” the NHS to American private health and drug firms.
He held a press conference to parade the leaked papers, having brandished redacted versions of them during a live TV debate days beforehand.
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Uncensored versions of the document first appeared online on the Reddit website more than a month earlier, but initially gained very little attention.
However, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre - an offshoot of GCHQ- has assessed that “Russian actors” decided to spread the documents to a larger audience.
A criminal investigation is underway into how the papers were initially accessed, but that is unrelated to the dissemination of the documents later.
There is no suggestion that Labour was in any way involved in the original leak of the papers.
Labour said it condemned “any attempt by Russia, or any foreign power, to interfere in our country’s democratic processes” and pledged to work to protect the nation’s security.
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The news came as intelligence agencies in the UK, US and Canada issued a joint statement revealing that hackers linked to the Russian intelligence services had tried to access coronavirus vaccine research in the three countries.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn holds a redacted copy of the Department for International Trade's UK-US Trade and Investment Working Group report in December PA Wire/PA Images
In a written statement to parliament Raab revealed that during the 2019 general election a cross-government “election security” cell was stood up to coordinate responses to threats and hazards.
“On the basis of extensive analysis, the government has concluded that it is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 General Election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked government documents,” he said.
“Sensitive government documents relating to the UK-US Free Trade Agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 General Election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit.
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“When these gained no traction, further attempts were made to promote the illicitly acquired material online in the run up to the General Election.
“Whilst there is no evidence of a broad spectrum Russian campaign against the General Election, any attempt to interfere in our democratic processes is completely unacceptable. It is, and will always be, an absolute priority to protect our democracy and elections.
“There is an ongoing criminal investigation and it would be inappropriate for us to say anything further at this point.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman said that it was “nonsense” to suggest that the information was now being made public to distract attention from the likely publication next week of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s ‘Russia report’ pointing to Moscow influence in the Tory party.
He said that Raab had been waiting for the establishment of the new ISC – which finally appointed a chairman Julian Lewis on Wednesday – before deciding to go public with the revelations.
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In his statement, the foreign secretary added: “The government reserves the right to respond with appropriate measures in the future.
“The UK will continue to call out and respond to malign activity, including any attempts to interfere in our democratic processes, alongside our international partners.
“We fully support the recent action taken by our German partners who exposed Russian responsibility for the hack of their parliament in 2015 as well as their intention to act against those responsible under the cyber sanctions regime. The UK government laid the statutory instrument for our own cyber sanctions regime on 17 June.”
The forum website Reddit said the unredacted papers had been uploaded as “part of a campaign that has been reported as originating from Russia”.
It suspended 61 accounts that showed a “pattern of coordination”.
Asked about the government statement by reporters outside his home, Corbyn declined to comment on Thursday.
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A Labour spokesman said: “We condemn any attempt by Russia, or any foreign power, to interfere in our country’s democratic processes.
“Labour stands ready to work cross-party to protect our nation’s security. That includes in our response to the publication of the long-awaited report by the Intelligence Security Committee on the Russian threat to the UK.”
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Raab’s statement was “ambiguous” and “confusing”.
She said Raab had said there was “no evidence of full-scale interference” by Russia in his statement but had also claimed “any attempts of such interference are unacceptable”.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--This Couple Couldn't Agree On Front Door Colour. Enter A Friendly Postie

Lizzie Pocklington / SWNS.COM SWNS
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A couple who couldn’t decide on a colour to paint their front door were given help from an unlikely source, when their postie left a feedback on her note.
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Lizzie Pocklington, 26, had spent over a month trying to find the perfect shade for her door when help came in the form of her postwoman.
Her jet black door is currently lathered with six different colours of tester paint as she tried to visualise which one she liked best.
Seeing the door and the clear creative struggle, a friendly woman postie left a note through the letterbox offering her opinion on the matter.
“Second green up from bottom of door looks the best,” she wrote – followed by a smiley face.
Lizzie Pocklington / SWNS.COM Lizzie Pocklington / SWNS.COM
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Sadly, Pocklington had already decided to go with her preferred colour – a warm mid-brown London Stone – just a few days before receiving the note and has already spent £72 on the paint.
Pocklington and her boyfriend Martin disagreed on whether the door should be a neutral colour, or Martin’s favoured green tones. They purchased six tester pots and daubed them across the door to see which one they liked the most.
Eventually, Pocklington decided to go with her preference, brushing off both her boyfriend and the postwoman’s suggestion.
The science teacher from Nottingham said: “My boyfriend came into the house and said there was a strange message left by the postie. I looked at it and just started howling because the postie had given us feedback... she said she liked the green – which annoyingly was my boyfriend’s favourite colour which is really gutting. And now I’ve put it on Twitter everyone seems to agree with her.”
Pocklington said she’s afraid to post the finished product when they paint it this weekend after the feedback she received. “Everyone online is saying I’ve made the wrong choice,” she said. “And she is a postie so she’s a door expert as she’s seen plenty.”
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Despite her colour concerns, Pocklington said the note did make her day – “it just cheered everyone up” – and Martin is now feeling suitably smug.
“I’d been saying the whole entire time I wanted the door green so I feel really vindicated at the moment. And the tweets all seem to agree with me as well,” the 34-year-old recruiter said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Galyn Görg, Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air And Twin Peaks Star, Dies Aged 55

Galyn Görg – who appeared in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and Twin Peaks – has died at the age of 55.
Her death was announced by her family on a GoFundMe page set up to help with funeral costs.
They explained that Galyn had been recently diagnosed with cancer “throughout her entire body and lungs”, and was told she had just days to live.
Galyn Gorg pictured in 2014 Bobby Bank via Getty Images
“After remaining optimistic and praying for a miracle, she has sadly passed,” they said.
“We were unaware of just how sick she was as the diagnosis was a shock to the entire family. We hastily bought tickets to Oahu without a second thought, as she was getting treatment there. Since spending a great deal of time and money, we are now looking for donations for funeral services.”
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Galyn died on 14 July, a day before what would have been her 56th birthday.
She acted opposite Will Smith in an episode of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air in 1996, playing Helena, a girl who went up against the main character in a boxing match.
Her other credits included playing Angie in RoboCop 2, Nancy O’Reilly in three episodes of Twin Peaks and Lt. Leora Maxwell in M.A.N.T.I.S., which made history as the first live-action US series to feature a Black superhero as its main character.
More recently, Galyn appeared in two episodes of the US comedy Parks And Recreation, playing Josephina Academia, and the season four finale of How To Get Away With Murder.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Vanessa Paradis And Winona Ryder No Longer Giving Evidence In Johnny Depp's Libel Case Against The S

Vanessa Paradis And Winona Ryder No Longer Giving Evidence In Johnny Depp's Libel Case Against The Sun

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Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis will no longer be called to give evidence in Johnny Depp’s libel claim against The Sun, the High Court has heard.
The Hollywood actor is suing the tabloid’s publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) and its executive editor Dan Wootton over an article published in April 2018, in which they called him a “wife beater” and referred to “overwhelming evidence” that he attacked ex-wife Amber Heard during their relationship. He strongly denies the allegations.
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Depp’s former partners Ryder and Paradis were due to appear via video link to give evidence this week, but the actor’s barrister David Sherborne told the court on Thursday that his legal team had decided there is no need to hear from them.
Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder ASSOCIATED PRESS
At the start of the eighth day of the case, Sherborne said there was no need to call upon the pair, given that the defendant’s case is that the actor was not violent to other partners but was to Heard.
He told the court: “There is no need to reschedule those witnesses, much as it would have been a pleasure to have them here.”
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Paradis, who was in a relationship with Depp for more than 14 years and had two children with him, was due to give evidence in support of the actor’s case on Thursday.
Depp and Paradis pictured in 2008 ASSOCIATED PRESS
At a preliminary hearing in the case, part of Paradis’s witness statement said: “I have known Johnny for more than 25 years.
“We’ve been partners for 14 years and we raised our two children together.
“Through all these years I’ve known Johnny to be a kind, attentive, generous, and non-violent person and father.”
She added: “He was never violent or abusive to me.”
On Wednesday, the court did not have time to hear from actress Winona Ryder, who was engaged to Depp in the 1990s.
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The court has previously heard Depp had a “Winona Forever” tattoo when the pair were an item, which he later changed to “Wino Forever”.
Depp and Ryder attend pictured in 1991 Ron Galella, Ltd. via Getty Images
At a preliminary hearing in the case, part of Ms Ryder’s witness statement was revealed in court documents, which read: “I cannot wrap my head around (Ms Heard’s) accusations.
“He was never, never violent towards me. He was never, never abusive at all towards me.”
The court wil now hear from Depp’s former head of security, Sean Bett, and Alejandro Romero, a concierge at the Eastern Columbia Building where Depp and Heard lived in Los Angeles.
Depp’s case against NGN and Wootton arises out of the publication of an article on The Sun’s website on April 27 2018 with the headline “Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be ‘genuinely happy’ casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?”.
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Depp and Heard in 2015 Todd Williamson via Getty Images
NGN is defending the article as true and says Depp was “controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs” between early 2013 and May 2016, when the couple split.
His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was “overwhelming evidence” Depp assaulted Heard on a number of occasions and left her “in fear for her life”.
Heard claims that, during an incident in Australia, she was subjected to a “three-day hostage situation” during which Depp drank to excess and took pills.
The pair met in 2011 and began living together in 2012 before marrying in Los Angeles in February 2015.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Boris Johnson Misses 24-Hour Turnaround Target For Covid-19 Tests

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Boris Johnson has missed his target of turning around most coronavirus tests within 24 hours by the end of June, new figures have confirmed.
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The latest NHS Test and Trace statistics showed that at no point during last month was the “ambition” set by the prime minister reached.
Figures are issued on an average full-week basis, so although the target was not reached from June 25 to July 1, it was unclear until today whether it had been met on the actual day of the June 30 deadline.
But the latest figures for July 2 to July 8 confirmed the PM’s target was still being missed.
The 24-hour goal, set by Johnson for all tests other than posted home-testing kits, is seen as crucial to allowing contact tracers to chase up and stop people spreading the virus.
The government does, however, point to the fact that nearly nine in 10 “in person” tests at regional drive-through and mobile testing centres are achieving a one-day turnaround.
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The latest figures show 88.8% of mobile units return results with a day, and 87.1% of drive-through units.
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Home test kits, which are excluded from the PM’s target because of delays in the public posting them back, have a 24-hour turnaround for just 3.3% of tests. Satellite testing centres, used for care homes, have a one-day turnaround for 20.9% of tests.
The figures are much better for tests being completed by the end of the following day, itself seen by some in the NHS as an effective measure, with nearly 100% for drive-through and mobile test centres.
The NHS Test and Trace service also revealed it was still failing to reach nearly a quarter of people who test positive for the virus. Some 78.7% were reached and asked to provide details of recent close contacts, up slightly week on week.
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In the week to July 8, some 13,807 people were identified as close contacts. Of these, 9,811 people (71.1%) were reached and asked to self-isolate, again a slight improvement on the previous week – but still short of the 80% figure recommended by government scientists needed to make the system effective.
Since the system started, 155,000 people who may have been at risk of unknowingly spreading the virus have been reached by the service and asked to self-isolate.
The department for health and social care said the data continues to show that “the majority” of those testing positive were reached by NHS Test and Trace to identify their contacts in less than 24 hours.
Some 96.4 % of people tested in-person at regional testing sites and mobile testing units received their tests the day after the test was taken.
In another major development, NHS Test and Trace revealed it was stopping with immediate effect the use of test kits produced by private firm Randox.
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It said the kits may not meet its required safety standards for coronavirus testing.
“Alongside the Lighthouse Laboratories, NHS Test and Trace has a separate contractual arrangement with Randox laboratories. As a precautionary measure and while we investigate further, NHS Test and Trace are requesting that all settings pause the use of Randox test kits with immediate effect and until further notice,” it said.
The risk to safety is low and test results from previous Randox kits are not affected, it added.
Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, Dido Harding, said: “Each week there have been sustained improvements in NHS Test and Trace to reach more people and help stop those who may have been in contact with the virus unknowingly passing it on.
“We have made testing and tracing quicker and more accessible, and we remain committed to develop the service further over the coming months.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--The Russia Report And Why Boris Johnson's Attempt To Get His Own Way Has Backfired

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Boris Johnson is once again in a bit of a flap after his attempt to impose his “preferred candidate” to head the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) was defeated in a coup from within his own party.
Backbench MP Julian Lewis demonstrated in spectacular fashion that he will not pander to will of the PM as he landed a role which gives him oversight of Britain’s intelligence agencies.
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The immediate loser was Johnson’s pick for the role, Chris “Failing” Grayling, but the ramifications for the PM could potentially mean he has more to lose in the long term.
What happened?
In short, Johnson wanted Grayling in the top job and Tory whips told its members on the ISC to vote for him.
Lewis considered this an “improper request” and voted for himself instead. The government then expelled him from the parliamentary Conservative Party because he had been “working with Labour and other opposition MPs for his own advantage”.
Why is the government so upset?
Although it’s not been publicly acknowledged, it’s widely believed the government was very keen to keep a secret report examining Russian influence in British politics well, secret.
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Dr Julian Lewis is a Russia hawk and no government pushover - so under his chairmanship I could well imagine the long-awaited #RussiaReport being released before parliament breaks for the summer next week — Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 15, 2020
And less than 24 hours after Lewis landed the job, the ISC announced it would be made public next week.
So what exactly is all the fuss about?
The report in question is by the ISC, which oversees the work of the UK’s intelligences agencies such as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
It was tasked with examining possible Russian influence into the UK democratic process, particularly the EU referendum and 2017 General Election.
Why was the Russia report commissioned?
Russian interference into the US presidential election of 2016 is well-documented and Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel investigation even indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies on charges related to attempt to influence the vote.
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As a result, the UK government thought it proper to establish if similar had occurred in public votes in Britain.
And did it?
We don’t know – the report was submitted to the government before publication to ensure no sensitive information is inadvertently made public.
Although vetting is standard procedure for such documents, a row has broken out over how long the process should take.
Dominic Grieve, the former committee chair, said last year the report was sent to the prime minister for approval on October 17. The former attorney said the process was normally completed within 10 working days and accused the government of “sitting on the report”.
However, the timescale was disputed by government sources who said that it usually took six weeks.
Yet that was over seven months ago and it is still not public.
ALEXEY NIKOLSKY via Getty Images
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Why would the government delay the publication?
Last year critics argued the Conservative government was stalling because it contains information that could have damaged the party ahead of the General Election.
Now that time has passed, critics are simply assuming it has still not been released because it is very embarrassing for the government.
And is it?
We don’t know yet although there have been some possible clues.
The Sunday Times claimed last year that nine Russian business people who gave money to the Tory Party are named in the report in what is the first major leak from the publication.
This is very different from the kind of interference seen during the US presidential election but would obviously be hugely embarrassing for Boris Johnson and his government.
The Sunday Times claims Alexander Temerko, who formerly worked for the Kremlin’s defence ministry, is named after donating more than £1.2m to the party and describing Boris Johnson as a “friend”.
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Meanwhile, major Tory donor Lubov Chernukhin, wife of former Vladimir Putin ally Vladimir Chernukhin, is also said to be included in the report.
Chernukin has handed the party over £450,000 in the past 12 months, and famously paid £160,000 during a Conservative fund raising event to play a tennis match with Johnson.
When do we find out what’s in it?
On Thursday morning it was announced the long-awaited report would be published by next Wednesday after the first sitting of the ISC under the leadership of Lewis.
A spokesperson for the ISC said: “The committee has unanimously agreed this morning that it will publish the report on Russia prepared by its predecessor before the house rises for the summer recess.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Jools Oliver Reveals She Had A Miscarriage In Lockdown

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Jools Oliver has revealed she had a miscarriage during lockdown.
The childrenswear designer and husband Jamie Oliver have spoken openly in the past about losing “five little stars in the sky”.
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The couple are parents to Poppy, 18, Daisy, 17, Petal, 11, Buddy, nine, and River, three – and Oliver has said she still wants another child before her 47th birthday next year.
Speaking to Zoe Hardman on the Made By Mammas podcast, she said: “I really do, I really do [want another child] but I’ve just had three miscarriages since then and a recent one three weeks ago and I’m thinking ‘No’. I don’t know. I do want to, but I’ve got to mentally check that it’s a good idea to do it.
“And also physically because I am 45 as I always say, nearly 46. So it’s a little bit dodgy.”
She added: “Jamie is still up for it, kind of, not really. I haven’t got long, maybe another year and then I really will just shut that chapter off because I am very happy and I am pretty full up at the moment as it is.
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“But just that little baby, it’s a terrible thing to keep wanting something but you can’t help it. I assume it will stop.”
HuffPost UK John Stillwell/PA)
Asked how she was coping after losing a pregnancy so recently, she said: “I went to see the doctor the other day and doing all the chit chat and he said ‘How are you mentally?’ and I thought about it and I went ‘Well, this is the fifth one now’.
“I had two before River, and three, they’ve been early ones, they have been six-and-a-half weeks, the last two were.
“I’m really good at going ‘Right, I’m pregnant but it won’t work so I’m just going to carry on’, whereas everyone gets really into it and I have really learnt to not because I’m kind of not very positive about it so I feel OK, I also feel I’m so lucky.”
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She continued: “I just feel like I have got five and shut up, on to the school run.”
Oliver said she thinks it is important to speak openly about the experience, adding: “It’s weird if you don’t, it just doesn’t make sense if you keep it quiet.”
She also said she did not tell her family about her most recent pregnancy because she did not want them to worry about her during lockdown.
She said: “I did have a pretty dangerous one – I think it was my second one which was really dangerous for myself – so my family don’t want me to do it again.
Samir Hussein via Getty Images
“They think ‘You don’t need to do it again, you’ve got five, you’ve got healthy children, just be grateful’. They don’t say it like that but that’s what I mean and I understand because my life is more important so I sometimes may not tell the sisters because I don’t want to hurt their feelings, I’d rather just not say because they’ll be worried about me, especially during lockdown.
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“Telling my mum, well, especially because I couldn’t see her, would have really upset her so I kept that quiet. She knows now, but at the time I didn’t tell her.”
The couple celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary last month and Oliver paid tribute to the children they had lost in an Instagram post.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Report On Russian Interference In UK To Be Published Within Next Week

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The long-awaited report on Russian interference in the UK will be published by next Wednesday.
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) agreed to make the report public as it sat for the first time after Julian Lewis was controversially elected chair over Boris Johnson’s favoured candidate Chris Grayling.
The ISC, which oversees the work of the UK’s intelligence agencies such as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, produced the report after examining possible Russian influence into the UK democratic process, particularly the 2016 EU referendum and 2017 general election.
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The prime minister has previously been criticised for the delay in publishing the report which he received in October as he was preparing for the December election.
But No.10 insisted it could not be published until a new ISC was formed.
The committee met for the first time on Thursday after it was finally put together, seven months after the general election.
A spokesperson for the ISC said: “The committee has unanimously agreed this morning that it will publish the report on Russia prepared by its predecessor before the house rises for the summer recess.
“There will be no further comment.”
Russian interference into the US presidential election of 2016 is well-documented and there are fears that Vladimir Putin’s nation may have sought to exert similar influence in the UK.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Islamic State Bride Shamima Begum Should Be Allowed To Return To UK, Court Rules

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Shamima Begum – one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join the so-called Islamic State group (IS) – should be allowed to return to the UK to challenge the deprivation of her British citizenship, senior judges have ruled.
Begum, now 20, travelled to Syria in February 2015 and lived under IS rule for more than three years before she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February last year.
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Then-home secretary Sajid Javid revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds later that month.
Begum took legal action against the Home Office, claiming the decision was unlawful because it rendered her stateless and exposed her to a real risk of death or inhuman and degrading treatment.
In February, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) – a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone’s British citizenship on national security grounds – ruled the decision was lawful as Begum was “a citizen of Bangladesh by descent” at the time of the decision.
The tribunal also found that she “cannot play any meaningful part in her appeal and that, to that extent, the appeal will not be fair and effective”, but ruled that “it does not follow that her appeal succeeds”.
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The teenager resurfaced in Syria earlier this year. PA Ready News UK
Begum’s challenge to the Home Office’s decision to refuse to allow her to enter the UK to effectively pursue her appeal was also rejected.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that “the only way in which she can have a fair and effective appeal is to be permitted to come into the United Kingdom to pursue her appeal”.
In response to the ruling, Javid posted a statement on Twitter saying he was was “deeply concerned” by the judgment.
He said he respected the court and would limit how much he said about the case, but that there were important principles at stake.
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“Any restrictions of rights and freedoms faced by Ms Begum are a direct consequence of the actions she has taken, in violation of both government guidance and common morality,” he said.
“It is not clear to me why an appeal could not be made abroad using modern technology.
“However, this is not solely a matter of justice. It is also a matter of national security.”
I am deeply concerned by today's judgment at the Court of Appeal: pic.twitter.com/Ns94KOAQH4 — Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) July 16, 2020
He added that the judgments and precedents set in the case could bind the hands of the government in managing past and future cases.
And he warned allowing her to walk the streets would serve “as a lightning rod for both Islamist and far-right extremists”.
Lord Justice Flaux – sitting with Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Singh – said: “Fairness and justice must, on the facts of this case, outweigh the national security concerns, so that the leave to enter appeals should be allowed.”
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The judge found that “the national security concerns about her could be addressed and managed if she returns to the United Kingdom”.
In its ruling, the court said: “If the security service and the director of public prosecutions consider that the evidence and public interest tests for a prosecution for terrorist offences are met, she could be arrested and charged upon her arrival in the United Kingdom and remanded in custody pending trial.”
Lord Justice Flaux also said: “With due respect to SIAC, it is unthinkable that, having concluded that Begum could not take any meaningful part in her appeal so that it could not be fair and effective, she should have to continue with her appeal nonetheless.”
He added: “It is difficult to conceive of any case where a court or tribunal has said: ‘We cannot hold a fair trial, but we are going to go on anyway.’”
Human rights organisation Liberty, which intervened in Begum’s appeal, welcomed the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
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Liberty lawyer Katie Lines said: “The right to a fair trial is not something the government can take away on a whim.
“It is a fundamental part of our justice system and equal access to justice must apply to everyone.
“Banishing someone is the act of a government shirking its responsibilities and it is critical that cruel and irresponsible government decisions can be properly challenged and overturned.”
Begum was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS, shortly after Sharmeena Begum – who is no relation – travelled to Syria in December 2014.
Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, then 16 and 15 respectively, and Begum boarded a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on February 17, 2015, before making their way to Raqqa in Syria.
Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory, with all three of her school friends also reportedly marrying foreign IS fighters.
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She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had both since died.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Julian Lewis Blasts 'Improper' Boris Johnson For Trying To Fix Intelligence Committee Vote

PA
Boris Johnson behaved in an “improper” way when he tried to tell members of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) who to choose as its chair, the MP who snatched the job from No.10′s preferred candidate has said.
MP Julian Lewis secured the role despite widespread expectation that former cabinet minister Chris Grayling would receive the backing of the Conservative-dominated committee which oversees the work of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
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Downing Street responded to Lewis’ decision to stand for job by removing the Tory whip from him.
Lewis, a veteran MP and former chair of the Commons defence committee, said it had been an “improper request” for No.10 to ask ISC members to vote for Grayling.
“The 2013 Justice and Security Act explicitly removed the right of the prime minister to choose the ISC chairman and gave it to the committee members,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
“I remember this well, as I served on the committee from 2010 to 2015 and took part of the legislation through the Commons myself on behalf of the committee.
“There is no other Conservative MP in the House of Commons with any past experience of working on the ISC.
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“It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the prime minister’s preferred candidate for the ISC chair. I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate.
“In recent days, the official No.10 spokesman explicitly denied that the government was seeking to ‘parachute’ a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide.
“It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the government’s preferred candidate.”
Grayling’s suitability for the role had been questioned by many in Westminster.
Former national security adviser Lord Ricketts warned that Grayling – who earned the nickname “Failing Grayling” during a chequered ministerial career – did not “match up” to the authority and reputation of former chairs.
As well as Grayling and Lewis, the members of the ISC are Tory MPs Theresa Villiers, Sir John Hayes and Mark Pritchard, Labour MPs Dame Diana Johnson and Kevan Jones, the Labour peer Admiral Lord West and the SNP MP Stewart Hosie.
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Johnson has faced criticism over the delay in appointing the committee which has not met since the last parliament was dissolved in November last year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-07-16--Here's Why You Shouldn't Wear A Mask With A Valve

Professor Trisha Greenhalgh, an expert in primary care at University of Oxford, told HuffPost UK: “The valve acts like an exhaust pipe, potentially spewing germs out to the environment.
“Cloth face coverings are the best thing. They stop droplets – that’s why they get wet of course, and you have to change them when they do.