thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Even Social Distancing Hasn't Saved Women From Sexual Harassment

Young woman outside train station wearing a virus protective face mask Thomas Tolstrup via Getty Images
When I started walking from the North London suburbs into central London last week for my first lockdown friend-date, I had many mundane thoughts in my head. Will my phone battery last long enough to maps my route? Have I remembered how to carry a conversation? It was a hot day and I was content in my plod across the UK’s new Black Mirror set, watching people shout conversations from two metres apart. The last thing on my mind was my safety. Maybe it should have been.
Advertisement
“Alright love?” came a shout from a bench on a curb where three men sat (and not two metres apart). Out of practice, my brain dusted off its muscle-memory powered guide to street harassment as I quickened my pace and mentally scanned for crowds of people or shops I could hide in. Oops. “Wow look at that!” another said as I tugged at my shorts willing them to cover my whole body and make me invisible; nervous that this barely perceptible reaction could be mistaken for engagement in their calls. Later, I was rattled again as a man on a bike slowed down to wink at me.
The culmination of these experiences made me think only one thing – seriously? We are living in a global pandemic in which it is even dangerous to stand too close to my mum. Why am I still being harassed on the street?
“While I automatically looked for crowds and shops I could hide in, there were, of course, none – with only essential shops open and pairs of people walking down the street.”
Catcalling has always felt threatening because it breaks social convention. When a man shouts at a woman on the street they show that they disregard their boundaries and are willing to make them feel uncomfortable. And every time a man does this, it raises the question: what other boundaries are they comfortable shunning? With the best will and gym-routine in the world, if a man decided to physically assault me – I would not be able to stop him. Overreaction? Last November, a man raped and killed a 19-year-old American student after she ignored his catcalls. Street harassment is dangerous. It’s invasive. It’s embarrassing. And its utterly intractable from power dynamics. If anyone still thinks catcalling is funny, or a compliment – please think again. It’s objectification.
In the five second period in which I walked past those men who stared, enjoyed, and then commented on my body, I became non-consensually complicit in their sexual gratification. Wanting desperately for this not to be the case, I wished I was wearing something else. It was 25C. Why should I have been?
Advertisement
Now, amid a global pandemic where any social contact is unacceptable for other reasons, this crossing of clear lines feels more shocking. While I always wonder if men who cat-call believe they are being charming and will successfully initiate a sexual encounter, or are merely vocalising a deep-seated entitlement, those potentially wanting the former in a global lockdown seem more bizarre than ever. Not only is it scary to think they could assault me – what if they have coronavirus and pass it on?
I’m not alone in my worries. Last month a study by charity Plan International UK found that 20% of women aged 14 to 21 had suffered street harassment since the government implemented social distancing measures. A quarter feel in danger when exercising alone and a third fear going to the shops.
20% of women have even said street harassment has got worse. And while women like me felt that fewer people on the streets would equate to fewer people sexually harassing women, in practice this has meant there are fewer places of safety to turn to when it happens. While I automatically looked for crowds and shops I could hide in, there were, of course, none – with only essential shops open and pairs of people walking down the street. And if something physical had happened, would I have been able to rely on people to break social distancing measures and help, risking spreading coronavirus? The Plan International Study corroborates these fears with 40% of people reporting fewer shops to go to and a third believing the police would be too occupied with other issues to help.
How then can women cling onto some sense of safety in our already increasingly baffling world. While a 2018 law in France made street harassment illegal, the UK benefits from no such protection and catcalling is not an offense. Through their campaign OurStreetsNow, sisters Maya and Gemma Tutton hope to change this – and their petition calling to make it illegal has been signed over 200,000 times.
As night fell and I walked back from central London to the suburbs I was more cautious and less naïve. Even though we’ve seen growing community cohesion and unity against the virus, it hasn’t melted away all other risks faced in day to day life. But if lockdown hasn’t given women respite from sexual harassment – what will?
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Food Bank Faces Donation Shortage As ‘500 Families’ Queue Outside For Hours Each Day

HuffPost is part of Verizon Media .
Click ' I agree ' to allow Verizon Media and our partners to @ @ @ @ @ to access your device and use your data ( including location ) to understand your @ @ @ @ @ measure personalised ads .
We will also provide you with personalised ads on partner products @ @ @ @ @ we use your data in our Privacy Centre .
Once you confirm your privacy choices @ @ @ @ @ changes at any time by visiting your Privacy dashboard .
Click 'Learn more ' to @ @ @ @ @ Media and our partners collect and use data .

Food Bank Faces Donation Shortage As ‘500 Families’ Queue Outside For Hours Each Day
A food bank in London is facing a donation shortage following a surge in visitors since the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the UK in March. William McGranaghan of Dads House in London shared a video on Twitter which showed a queue of people filling the entire length of a shopping centre outside his food bank in Elephant and Castle. He says the number of families visiting has shot up from 10 a day to more than 500 a day – many of which have young children. Mr McGranaghan is now worried that donations alone will no longer be able to fulfil the high demand.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Will Coronavirus Put An End To Boozy 'Brits Abroad' Culture?

Clara Margais via Getty Images Holidaymakers on the Punta Ballena strip in Magaluf, Spain
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Roaring down the strip, bucket of vodka-mixer in hand, going crustacean-red on a beach littered with portable speakers blaring house music, then getting a burger and chips in a beachfront Irish pub to chat about last night’s hook-up.
Advertisement
These are just some of the stereotypes of the ‘Brits Abroad’ holiday to Europe – as exemplified by The Inbetweeners Movie, ITV’s Club Reps and Kevin and Perry Go Large, depending on your viewing vintage. There are those who blare their music less loud, of course; who have a genuine interest in local culture and food. And there are Brits whose holiday experiences in Europe have been altogether more challenging. But still the party kept going – until now.
Due to the mighty, culture-shifting impact of Covid-19, travel is changing. Not least because, as it stands, Brits can’t travel anywhere outside the UK. Even at home, we’re only ‘travelling’ to see friends from a safe two-metre distance.
And when the national lockdowns across Europe do lift – as they eventually all must – what will remain of a travel industry that was initially a vehicle for the virus and has now been completely undone by it?
Take the Spanish island of Mallorca. One of the most popular destinations in Europe with Brits, lately it has been attempting to shift its image to curb the worst excesses of visitors and to promote and protect its natural beauty. Could lockdown be a time of introspection – leading to change – for tourist boards dissatisfied with the current travel landscape?
Advertisement
Clara Margais via Getty Images
Forget grand plans for new sustainable policies or strategies for eco-tourism – priority number one is going to be throwing open borders again and letting the hordes in, says Sophie Griffiths, editor of travel trade magazine, TTG Media.
“It’s the destinations that are going to suffer so badly from this in the short term,” she tells HuffPost UK – whether that’s the loss of cruise traffic to the smaller islands of the Caribbean, a drop in volunteer tourism to NGO projects in south-east Asia, or Brits no longer flying en masse to Europe for their boozy stag and hen weekends or sun-kissed package holidays.
“Brits are such a huge part of the tourism industry that they’re not going to turn Brits away,” Griffiths says in broad terms. “So many hotels, restaurants, bars that have been forced to close are just going to be desperate for that business so I definitely think they’re going to want to welcome Brits back.”
What that timeframe looks like is more in question, she adds. Destinations craving holidaymakers aren’t the same as holidaymakers craving destinations.
Advertisement
Ignacio Palacios via Getty Images Cruises bring a lot of money into local economies
There is a not insignificant level of anxiety and apprehension around travelling abroad right now, even taking into consideration the fact that we’ve all been holed up for months on end, says travel writer and commentator Simon Calder.
“In the short term, this summer I predict considerable apprehension on the part of holidaymakers and a stressful time for the hosts, as they deal with the unpredictable effects of measures such as social distancing,” he says, before adding that any anxiety will be “modified with the twin phenomena of ‘touristic immunity’ [ie. the misguided belief you won’t catch Covid-19] and alcohol”.
There’s a disparity. then, between the economic demands of countries wanting to get back on track and the desires of people – both holidaymakers and holiday providers – looking to overcome their own stresses of lockdown.
Put simply: throwing open AirBnb or hotel doors to a load of Brits, now the UK is the European country with the highest death toll of Covid-19 cases, may not feel like a priority in some destinations.
Advertisement
And for holidaymakers, particularly those considering long weekends or short breaks, jumping on a plane from Blighty – as and when it’s allowed – is looking equally stressful. Safety precautions are heaping new challenges on flyers, not least the 14-day quarantine period for all arrivals to the UK that comes into effect on June 8.
“Frivolous weekends away will become rarer,” says Calder, “partly because of the air travel experience.”
While the dramatic effects of lockdown mean 2020 will be a quiet, perhaps even extinct, year for British international tourism, tour operators and tourist boards are spending their downtime wisely by looking to the future. Beyond immediate economic goals, destinations like Mallorca say they are keen to use this period to work on continue attracting a different type of tourist.
“It’s clear that quality tourism and sustainability will be the way forward and fortunately, the island has already been adjusting its tourism offer accordingly for some years,” says Eduardo Gamero, president of the Fomento del Turismo de Mallorca. “For the moment, the islanders are enjoying the beauty of their own island,” he adds (the subtext being there’s no one puking alcohol up on the streets, and that’s quite nice actually.)
In February, Mallorca announced alcohol restrictions on bar crawls, party boats and happy hours that promote excessive drinking. Areas of Ibiza would also bring in restrictions, said a representative for the the Balearic Islands government.
Advertisement
ASSOCIATED PRESS Tourists on the street in Magaluf, in Calvia town, on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca
“We welcome all tourists as long as they will abide by the new protocols in place,” says Gamero, speaking to HuffPost UK. “Of course we want them back. However, as the British are behind us in terms of their exit strategy, it’s too soon to say when and how we will receive British tourists again.”
Mallorca’s tourist board is also predicting a rise in rural tourism after lockdown, and some of the island’s major hoteliers are opening their first in-land hotels ready for a different type of tourist – or, at least, a differently behaved tourist.
Bruce Poon Tip, founder of small-tour operator G Adventures, also believes a new culture for respectful tourism is around the corner. “If there is one thing that I hope we will learn from this pandemic, it is that we are all connected,” he says.
“The idea that from a small market in China, this virus spread so quickly to the furthest most remote rural communities around the world should show everyone how we are bound together, and how we’ll need each other to get through this.”
Advertisement
Balate Dorin via Getty Images Porte de Soller, Palma Mallorca, Spain
For a long time, the tourism industry has been dominated by a “bigger is better” mentality, says Boon Tip. “I think that this pandemic will make some people think differently, not being so attracted to hotspots and crowds when we are able to travel again.”
Other destinations are also encouraging guests to visit more natural attractions – although when travel re-opens, they may find an influx of tourists exploiting the relatively cheaper drinks and lifestyle, despite their promotions. Places historically popular with Brits cannot afford to bite the hand that feeds them.
“We have a large British community living in the Algarve,” says João Fernandes, president of Algarve Tourism in Portugal, “and they, as well as their families and friends are most welcome in our region, as they will continue to be not just the main market for the destination, but also our greatest ambassadors.”
The messaging may have adapted, then, but the marketing stays on point. “The lockdown inspired us to look inside the roots of our destination and to value its essence,” says Fernandes. “It reminded us of the importance of simple things, of enjoying the Algarve’s light, the fresh air of the green mountains, the ocean’s endless blue in a completely different way.”
Advertisement
HuffPost UK The Algarve tourist board hopes to welcome back British tourists as soon as is feasible
“Maybe this is a chance for resorts to reimagine how they welcome tourists,” says Sophie Griffiths, who speculates that other resorts might look to emulate the Spanish alcohol restrictions to “try to deter the Brits abroad mentality”.
However, it could be price that halts the hordes in the immediate aftermath of lockdown. While airlines such as Ryanair are trumpeting the return of their summer timetables, consumer advisers Which? predict the cost of holidays to rocket as schedules became less regular and seat prices are jacked up.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, editor of Which? Travel Rory Boland says: “A number of factors caused by the coronavirus outbreak could mean holidays to popular destinations become more expensive as a result, meaning more people may choose to holiday at home.
“Social distancing measures could also lead people to be drawn to smaller, less crowded destinations, but some people may simply prefer to hold off on foreign travel altogether, particularly if prices increase significantly.”
Advertisement
And maybe we’re missing the even bigger picture – that it’s not lockdown, but Brexit that will have the biggest influence on this reciprocal relationship. “Poor short-term judgment in a crisis can be forgiven,” reckons Simon Calder.
“Brexit will have a much deeper and longer-lasting deterrent effect than the coronavirus crisis. Long-term belligerence was already damaging British tourism before Covid-19.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Charity Shops Might Never Be The Same Post-Lockdown. Here's Why.

Maskot via Getty Images
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus pandemic. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
Charity shops across the country reopened on June 15 alongside other non-essential retailers. But for dedicated bargain hunters and enthusiastic eco-warriors, donating and shopping in them is likely to feel quite different.
Advertisement
For starters, it’ll take more planning, as your nearest store might remain closed – even though the government has given shops the green light.
Back in May, the British Heart Foundation told HuffPost UK it planned to open “a small number” of shops from mid-June. Shelter set out similar plans. Meanwhile Barnardo’s said it would open 70 shops in England from June 15, as part of a phased reopening of all branches.
Wherever you usually do your charity shopping, it’s likely to be different to what it was before the pandemic, says Robert Fisk, a spokesperson from Barnardo’s. “The customer’s shopping experience will be similar to the one they are now used to in grocery stores,” he tells HuffPost UK.
Expect to stay two metres apart from fellow customers and staff at all times and, if there’s an influx of customers, you’ll need to queue outside before you go in.
Advertisement
ArminStautBerlin via Getty Images
Charity shop browsing often includes more riffling and rummaging than regular clothes shopping – particularly in those bargain buckets where the best treasures seem to be hidden.
You might instinctively feel less inclined to caress the stock anyway, but to limit the risk of touching contaminated items, Barnardo’s and other stores will be providing hand sanitiser for customers to use as they enter the shop.
Donations at Barnardo’s, Oxfam and other chains will also be quarantined in a secure storage area for 72 hours.
“Each item will be date stamped so we know exactly when it came into the shop,” Fisk explains. “After the 72 hours quarantine period is over, the goods will be put out on the shop floor.”
Advertisement
You’ll still be able to donate to shops in the same way – via the shop itself or a local donation bank – but most chains are asking customers not to leave donations outside on the street.
“As people may have spent lockdown doing a little tidying and sorting around the house, we are expecting an influx of donations when we return,” says Fisk. “To help manage this we are advising our customers to call their local store before taking any donations to ensure the shop is able to take the items.”
Raphye Alexius via Getty Images
The changing rooms will be closed in all Barnardo’s stores for the foreseeable future and this is a measure other chains and non-charity retailers are considering.
The staff and volunteers you encounter on your charity shop visit may also look different. Both Barnardo’s and Oxfam confirmed they are supplying teams with personal protective equipment, including gloves and aprons. Barnardo’s added that staff will be welcomed to wear face coverings.
Advertisement
If you’re a regular visitor to a local charity shop, you may sadly notice some of the usual friendly faces behind the counter are missing. Oxfam said the majority of its volunteers are elderly and vulnerable, so won’t be able to return to shops while shielding is in place. “We are acutely conscious of our responsibilities towards them,” a spokesperson said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Is It Okay To Pee In A Park During Lockdown?

Dan Kitwood via Getty Images Parks have been incredibly busy since social distancing was eased
You’re reading our series Summer’s Not Cancelled, celebrating summer in this new normal. From rediscovering nature and cherishing time with friends and family, to virtual festivals and unforgettable staycations – summer’s still here, it’s just different.
First it was the odd person, now everyone’s doing it. In a Covid-19 landscape, bushes and trees in parks all over the country are being turned, grimly, into public toilets.
Advertisement
Where you once saw static green now you see the awkward shapes of humans, standing, crouching, squatting – their tapestries of synthetically-coloured clothing giving the game away, contrasting with the natural shades of green.
Peeing in parks has become a humorous new element of the ‘new normal’, but it also has potentially damaging knock-on effects. It’s a tough balance, because we must all wee: some of us need to more desperately than others and so, given the climate, it wouldn’t be right to judge every bush-dweller we pass.
The trouble is, peeing in the bushes is a temporarily solution to a long-term problem. There’s been no word yet from the UK government on public toilets reopening, and while the good weather stays, messes have been developing.
Certainly in central London, the shady innards of some particularly opportune trees are starting to resemble actual toilets, replete with toilet roll, puddles of urine cradled between tree roots and, yep, reportings of actual poo, too.
Advertisement
What’s The Problem With Public Peeing?
While weeing on mature trees isn’t likely to be a problem, say experts, relieving yourself on younger saplings could be detrimental to their growth. This is due to the components in human urine and their detrimental effects on the fragile ecosystems of developing trees.
So it’s best to stick to larger trees and bushes if possible, to reduce the urine ratio in terms of the tree’s daily, erm, intake of fluids from the ground.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Crowds enjoying the good weather in parks has a downside.
The second major issue is soil, a party line most famously schooled by the Glastonbury festival, which asks punters to “love the farm, leave no trace” – no dumping your tent and absolutely no peeing in hedgerows or streams.
The issue is not that it damages flora and fauna, but that urine toxically pollutes the water table below the ground, which has adverse knock-on effects for wildlife, polluting rivers and streams. Shouts of ‘don’t wee on the land!’ are common at the festival, as punters rally around landowner Michael Eavis’ request against out-of-toilet trips and point out individuals breaching the rules.
Advertisement
“The ground water runs into the central Whitelake River and down the valley for miles around. Wildlife and fish are affected if 200,000 people pee everywhere,” organisers say in a statement on the Glastonbury website.
Alys Tomlinson via Getty Images Glastonbury Festival politely ask punters not to wee on the land
While the natural makeup of ground varies across the UK, it’s reasonable to suggest that weeing on the ground could have repercussions for water tables across the country, long after we’ve relieved ourselves.
Glastonbury’s approach is backed by scientists. Abraham Noe-Hays, research director at the Rich Earth Institute in Vermont, USA, recognises the benefits of urine on soil as a renewable source of fertiliser (a practice legitimised by the World Health Organisation), but insists allowing the liquid back into waterways is dangerous stuff.
Advertisement
“One goal is preventing the pollution caused by peeing in water — keeping pee out of the waterways and protecting water quality,” says Noe-Hays.
So there you have it: the amount of wee might be comparatively low, but a high enough volume could feasibly pollute our water tables up and down the country, which isn’t good news for taps.
Many of us feel the need to get out to see friends now we’re finally allowed to, so the odd wee is an inevitability as we’re all staying out longer and potentially drinking more while we’re out. All we can do is stay mindful of the issues.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Cooking Free Meals For My Community Is Helping Others – And My Own Recovery

HuffPost UK Courtesy of the author
In my early 20s, life on the surface looked pretty good. I was on the road, catering for major events including the Olympics, Asian Games, Brit Awards and even getting to cater on tours with The Rolling Stones, Cher and Pink.
I was living the life I’d always dreamed of. But I was also slowly destroying my life at the same time.
Advertisement
Everyone I worked with was going out and partying hard. It was the done thing. It felt glamorous to a budding young chef, but the culture, combined with my love of drink and drugs, took me to hell and back on many occasions.
But I realised I wasn’t doing it like everyone else. I was doing it to excess. Looking back, I think it was probably obvious to everyone, but I never really discussed it. And in fact, although I admitted that I was an alcoholic on several occasions, I often talked myself out of it and went back into denial. It was easier that way. Or that’s how it seemed at the time, anyway.
I ended up losing several good jobs because of my lifestyle. In fact, when I was working in China in 2011, my behaviour not only cost me my job, but it very nearly cost the entire company its contract.
When I got back to the UK, my drinking and using was completely out of control. I was managing to get the jobs, but unable to keep them and having to move back in with my mum, who continued to support me through thick and thin. Addiction never exclusively affects the person directly experiencing it – there’s always a knock-on effect to friends, family and colleagues.
Advertisement
In 2016, I finally admitted to myself that I was completely dependent on drugs and alcohol. By that time, my drinking and drug taking resulted in over 40 hospital admissions and many suicide attempts and finally, in December 2017, I’d had enough. I ended up in hospital but this time, when I was discharged, I knew that drinking was not an option.
Just a few days after I was discharged, I found myself in George Street Social, a recovery café in Newcastle that hosts 12-step meetings. I completed 184 meetings in 90 days, found a sponsor and became part of a supportive recovery community, making many lifelong friends. I truly believe that the recovery community, and my family, saved my life. Not only did I feel part of something, and less alone than ever before, but I was even offered a job as a chef again. But this time the job was in a safe place: the recovery café itself.
Cooking plays such an important role in my recovery. Not only is it something I love and something that calms my mind, but it also helps me to give something back to the very community that helped me find recovery.
In 12-step recovery, the 12th and final step is all about giving back, about sustaining your own recovery by helping others. Since the coronavirus crisis, George Street Social has had to close its doors, meaning we are no longer able to offer food for sale, and I am no longer able to do my job.
However, the recovery community never stops being there for each other. So I decided to volunteer my time cooking meals for others. It’s good for my soul, as it keeps me engaged, is part of my recovery and, put simply, I just love being in the kitchen. Even as a full time chef when the café was open I enjoyed doing extra bits of cooking and baking, and I’d often make sobriety cakes for people at cost. It’s the creativity and the giving back – it’s invaluable.
Advertisement
Each week during lockdown, I’ve had the kitchen to myself, and I’ve cooked and cooked and cooked! Hundreds of meals each week, working with donated supplies from Charlotte’s Butchery – a small independent that’s really supportive of recovery, as well as fresh vegetables funded through personal donations from others. Other volunteers from the community pick them up and deliver them to people in recovery, people in need, as well as key workers who are doing such an immense job for all of us.
I know first-hand how addiction impacts both ourselves, and those close to us. But so too does recovery – its positive effects ripple through, and in some ways, simply being in recovery means helping put things right again.
For me, so many aspects of my recovery are thanks to the George Street Social community as well as my mum’s ongoing support, and I’m glad I’m able to give so much back now. At times like these, it’s the best way to get through.
Anything is possible. Long may it continue, one day at a time.
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--People Shielding During Coronavirus Lockdown 'Able To Spend Time Outside From Monday'

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
Extremely vulnerable people in England who have been ‘shielding’ during the coronavirus lockdown will be able to spend time outside from Monday.
Advertisement
This group – which includes 2.2 million people – will be able to go outside with members of their household, communities secretary Robert Jenrick will confirm on Sunday.
Meanwhile, those who live on their own will be able to meet up with one other person outside.
Social-distancing rules must be maintain during these outings, the government said.
Boris Johnson thanked people who have been shielding, saying the “patience and sacrifice” of this group had saved “thousands of lives”.
The PM said: “I do not underestimate just how difficult it has been for you, staying at home for the last 10 weeks, and I want to pay tribute to your resilience.
“I also want to recognise the hundreds of thousands of extraordinary volunteers who have supported you in shielding.
Advertisement
“Whether through delivering medicines and shopping, or simply by checking in on those isolating, they should feel deeply proud of the part they have played in this collective effort.”
Johnson said he “will do what I can” to make life easier for extremely vulnerable people in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Jenrick said incidences of Covid-19 were much lower than when lockdown measures were first put in place.
“That’s why we are focused on finding the right balance between continuing to protect those at the greatest clinical risk, whilst easing restrictions on their daily lives to make the difficult situation more bearable – particularly enabling the contact with loved ones they and we all seek,” he said.
sanjagrujic via Getty Images
Advertisement
Regular updates on lockdown measures will now be given to people in the shielded group, Jenrick added.
But for Steven McIntosh, director of policy at Macmillan Cancer Support, more still needs to be done for the most vulnerable in society.
The news is a step forward for people who are most vulnerable to coronavirus – “a group who have felt left behind and forgotten as lockdown eases”, he said.
“For many, it’ll be welcome advice that they can now choose to go outside for exercise or to meet people whilst socially distancing.
“But they still face heavy restrictions like being advised to avoid food shopping, going to pharmacies or their workplaces.
Advertisement
“The government also hasn’t yet delivered its commitment to provide greater help to this extremely vulnerable group, and Macmillan has heard from people living with cancer that existing ‘shielding’ support isn’t getting through.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam Says Rules 'Apply To All' Amid Dominic Cummings Row

Jonathan Van-Tam BBC News
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam has given his view on the Dominic Cummings row, saying lockdown rules “apply to all”.
Advertisement
Despite ministers insisted that he did not break any rules, the controversy around Cumming’s trip from London to Durham during lockdown – and a subsequent trip to Barnard Castle to “test his eyesight” – has rumbled on.
Asked during the government’s coronavirus press conference on Saturday whether people in authority should “give a lead” and obey the rules “above all” amid questions about the PM’s chief adviser, Van-Tam said the rules “are clear”.
"In my opinion, the rules are clear and they have always been clear. In my opinion, they are for the benefit of all, and in my opinion, they apply to all"
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam is asked whether people in authority should obey the lockdown rules
Updates: https://t.co/TNSSgJnYUX pic.twitter.com/cNEjvfyDdL — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) May 30, 2020
“Thank you for the question and I’m quite happy to answer it,” he said.
“In my opinion the rules are clear and they have always been clear.
“In my opinion they are for the benefit of all. And in my opinion they apply to all.”
Van-Tam’s comments come after a number of other government advisers have avoided commenting on Cummings, who is Boris Johnson’s top aide in Number 10.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said Cummings had given a “very extensive explanation” of his behaviour during lockdown.
“The prime minister accepted that explanation and on that basis kept him in post. That remains the position.”
Van-Tam also used the conference to warn that Britain is facing a “very dangerous moment” with the easing of lockdown restrictions.
He urged for the public to show restraint as shutdown measures are eased in England from Monday.
The government and the public have a “dual responsibility” to prevent a second wave of coronavirus, Van-Tam said, adding: “I believe this is also a very dangerous moment. We have to get this right.”
“This is a dual responsibility here of government to go slowly and carefully and to take the advice from the scientists,” he said.
Advertisement
“Of the scientists, to watch this whole thing very closely over the next few weeks.
“And, of the public in general to actually follow the guidance.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--US Erupts Into Nation-Wide Protests Over Killing Of George Floyd

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd – the Black man who died on Monday after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck – continued on Friday evening as Americans demanded that those involved face justice.
Advertisement
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz warned in a press conference early on Saturday the situation remains “incredibly dangerous.” Walz said he understood the “rage,” but not the “wanton destruction.” Frey said he was “reeling” along with the rest of his city, but emphasised that “there is no honour in burning down your city.”
The state’s National Guard was preparing to deploy 1,700 soldiers, Major General Jon Jensen announced, in what would be the largest deployment within Minnesota in the state’s history.
Protestors demonstrate outside of a burning Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, Thursday. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Advertisement
At the protest in New York, police were filmed hitting demonstrators with batons and spraying what appeared to be pepper spray, according to reporters on the scene. A dozen NYPD officers were injured and at least 200 protesters were arrested, local station WABC-7 reported.
Police in several cities, including Boston and Fort Wayne, Indiana, reportedly fired tear gas to disperse protesters.
In Atlanta, police also reportedly used tear gas on protesters outside CNN headquarters, where police were barricaded in the entry after some demonstrators shattered glass walls. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued a state of emergency around midnight.
The White House went on lockdown as protesters neared Pennsylvania Avenue and kicked down barricades guarded by the Secret Service, CNN reported. No one was allowed to leave the grounds, including members of the press, as demonstrators clashed with police.
In California, a black Toyota captured on video appeared to deliberately drive into protesters in Bakersfield. It was spotted later speeding down a road where demonstrators were gathered. It couldn’t immediately be determined if anyone was seriously injured. In Oakland, one Federal Protective Service officer died from gunshot wounds. Another was injured, reported KCBS Radio.
Advertisement
In downtown Los Angeles, protesters shut down the 110 Freeway as they chanted, “I can’t breathe” and “No justice, no peace.” Some clashed with police after a squad car was attacked.
In Houston, almost 200 people were arrested for participating “in unlawful assemblies throughout the day & night,” police tweeted. In Portland, police declared “a riot” and a Chase Bank building was set on fire.
In Louisville, Kentucky, law enforcement shot pepper pellets at a local news crew filming the protest, according to a local newscaster who was hit while reporting live. Police later apologised and said they would review the incident.
BREAKING: Police in Louisville fire rubber bullets at news crews live on television, as protests continue. pic.twitter.com/KYBrvsfXOE — Adam Snider (@AdamSniderNews) May 30, 2020
Demonstrators are on the move, chanting George Floyd’s name and “No Justice, No Peace.” Just passed over the Hennepin Avenue bridge. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/j4FDwNoCKJ — Danny Spewak (@DannySpewak) May 29, 2020
Advertisement
A lot just popped off at the protest for George Floyd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Pepper spray, batons, and several arrests. pic.twitter.com/ZuciQA82fe — Jon Campbell (@j0ncampbell) May 29, 2020
Chants of WHO ARE YOU PROTECTING in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/KPI8aQefkX — Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) May 30, 2020
Chicago’s #GeorgeFloyd protest has now taken over Ida B Wells Drive@cbschicago pic.twitter.com/0LPwMtmKxK — Marissa Parra (@MarParNews) May 29, 2020
Driver plows through crowd of protesters blocking road in Bakersfield, California pic.twitter.com/pI8OMneV8H — Art TakingBack 🇺🇸 (@ArtValley818) May 30, 2020
LAPD seen trying to detain protesters after squad car windows smashed, officer attacked downtown https://t.co/uHrpaRp3xm pic.twitter.com/gmxNAdO1uM — KTLA (@KTLA) May 30, 2020
Advertisement
Video from @KGWNews photographer Richard Gordon shows Chase Bank on fire in downtown Portland. https://t.co/QLnShi8LOf pic.twitter.com/6gmgb1DRgC — KGW News (@KGWNews) May 30, 2020
Minneapolis police over previous nights had responded to protests by wearing riot gear and firing tear gas and rubber bullets on demonstrators. Amid some of the civil unrest on Thursday night, a local police precinct in Minneapolis was burned and a Target and other stores were damaged.
The nationwide civil unrest follows a days-long wait for the Friday arrest of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The white cop pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd, who was handcuffed and unarmed, was being arrested after he was accused of fraud involving a possibly counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, according to the complaint filed against him, with Floyd reportedly unresponsive for nearly three of those minutes.
Chauvin is facing charges of third-degree murder and manslaughter. Floyd’s family issued a statement on Friday saying they were disappointed authorities didn’t seek first-degree murder charges. The family, calling Chauvin’s arrest “welcome but overdue,” also demanded that the other three officers present –Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng – be arrested.
“The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and is spilling out onto streets across America,” the family’s attorney Ben Crump wrote in a statement.
Advertisement
The local NAACP chapter echoed the family’s demands for the arrest of the other officers. “All humanity should be outraged,” Leslie Redmond, president of the Minneapolis NAACP, said Friday.
President Donald Trump tweeted early on Friday about the previous nights’ protests in Minneapolis, calling the largely Black demonstrators “thugs” and threatening them with state-sanctioned violence, adding, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Boris Johnson Must Learn Lessons From George Floyd's Death

LOADING ERROR LOADING
George Floyd was a 46-year-old Black man who died when arrested by four Minneapolis policemen, of whom at least one knelt on his neck. His tragic death has triggered a wave of protests across America, from the West Coast to the East. Not only were there protests in Minneapolis itself, but people took to the streets in New York, Portland, Kentucky, Washington, California and many communities beyond.
As the mayor of Minneapolis himself said in the aftermath: “Being a Black man in America should not be a death sentence.” This is what millions of Americans think. And tens of thousands have taken to the streets to make the point.
Advertisement
“Black people in Britain have long suffered disproportionately at the hands of the state.”
But British observers shouldn’t console themselves with the thought that this could not happen here. Many of the issues that have made the situation in the United States so combustible exist right here in the British Isles.
Black people in Britain have long suffered disproportionately at the hands of the state. One of the main triggers of the Broadwater Farm riots in 1985 was the death of Cynthia Jarret who died due to heart failure during a police search of her home. Black people suffer disproportionately from the police use of force.
In recent times, the use of tasers has been controversial, because the police seem to use them more frequently on black people. We are more likely to be sent to prison and disproportionately represented in the prison population.
Advertisement
Research by Inquest reveals that since 1990 there have been 1,741 deaths following contact with the police. Disproportionate numbers of those have been BAME (Black and minority ethnic). And the Runnymede Trust revealed that between 1995-2015 not a single police officer has been prosecuted for the death of a BAME person in custody.
It seems likely that feelings in the black community in America have been inflamed by the huge numbers of black people who have died from coronavirus and the fact that their leader Donald Trump seems less than sensitive to the concerns of Black America. But in Britain equally the death toll among the BAME community from coronavirus has been frightening.
Of the first twenty-three NHS doctors to die from coronavirus, twenty-two were BAME. And Boris Johnson, like his supporter and ally Trump, has a history of casual racism. Among other incidents, when he was a Telegraph columnist, Johnson referred to Black people as “picanninies” with “watermelon smiles”. And more recently he talked about Muslim women looking like letter boxes and bank robbers.
“We can only hope British politicians learn the right lessons from the current American situation.”
One of the tragic things about the death of George Floyd, apparently at the hands of the police, is that these are far from new issues in America.
Advertisement
Nearly thirty years ago, Los Angeles in California erupted in riots, because of the savage beating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles police, which was captured on film. In 2012, the death of the young black boy Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman led to the birth of the #blacklivesmatter movement. And the following year Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York also died at the hands of police officers. And their deaths triggered further widespread protest. Sadly, some of the last words by Eric Garner was that he could not breathe. And these were almost exactly among the last words of George Floyd.
The death of Floyd must leave many members of the black community in America thinking, how much has changed about police attitudes towards Black men? Apparently Black lives continue not to matter, at least for some individual police officers.
With demonstrations all over the country, the role of the American president would normally be to promise to listen and call for calm. But, far from calling for peace, Donald Trump was tweeting today about demonstrators outside the White House: “Big crowd, professionally organised, but nobody came close to breaching the fence. If they had they would have been greeted with the most vicious dogs and the most ominous weapons, I have ever seen. That’s when people would have been badly hurt, at least.”
Reflecting on past American presidents Democrat and Republican, even Richard Nixon would not have publicly played to anti-Black sentiment in the way that Trump is doing. This is one of the things that makes the current situation in America so dangerous.
But there is nothing for the comfort of the British political class in the American disturbances. In a post-Covid world, we see disproportionate death rates among minorities, even more disproportionate unemployment for minorities imminent and right-wing leaders in both Britain and America. Society is potentially a tinderbox.
Advertisement
Post-Covid conditions may be new, but tensions between the Black community and the police in Britain go back to the 1980s and the Brixton riots. We can only hope British politicians learn the right lessons from the current American situation. And it is not about sending inflammatory tweets.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Belly Mujinga: 'No Evidence Of Anyone Spitting' During Incident, Police Say

Undated family handout photo issued by Agnes Ntumba of her sister Belly Mujinga, 47, who has died of coronavirus after being spat at while on duty. PA
Police say they are taking no further action following the death of railway ticket officer Belly Mujinga because “there is no evidence of anyone spitting” in an incident at London’s Victoria Station ahead of her death.
The 47-year-old died of Covid-19 on April 5. It was alleged that two weeks before this, she was spat on while at work by a man who claimed to have the virus.
Advertisement
But in a statement, British Transport Police said: “We want to be clear on why we decided not to take any further action – based on key witness statements and having reviewed the CCTV footage, there is no evidence of anyone spitting in this incident.
“Senior detectives are confident that this incident did not lead to Belly Mujinga contracting Covid-19.
“This is because the man in the CCTV footage who detectives interviewed as part of the investigation had a negative antibody test result for Covid-19 in the time after the incident, therefore showing that he had never had the illness.
“The man’s test did not relate to the BTP investigation – he was tested as part of his occupation and the test results were shared with us during the investigation.”
Advertisement
Mujinga’s husband Lusamba Gode Katalay described the news that police would not be taking any further action as “disappointing”.
He said: “We had never thought a prosecution was likely, but it was disappointing to get that news. We are not pursuing a prosecution. We are instead calling for her employer to take action to protect their workers.
“There are important things we need answers to. Her union, the TSSA, reported it to Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate (the health and safety body of the Office for Road and Rail), and that investigation into the safety of Belly’s workplace is still ongoing. Hopefully that will answer questions like why she was out working on the concourse at all given that she had a respiratory health issue.
“We also think that all key workers like Belly should be covered by the government’s NHS compensation scheme.
“The money can’t bring her back or take away our pain, but it would be recognition of the sacrifice that all key workers have made to help our country through this pandemic.”
Advertisement
Mujinga’s employers, Southern Railway, said it followed all of the latest government health advice, which it said has not advised that railway workers need to wear personal protective equipment.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Elite Sport Can Resume Behind Closed Doors From Monday, Government Confirms

Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Elite spot can resume behind closed doors in England from Monday, new government health and safety guidelines have confirmed.
The rules form stage three of the process of bringing sport back from the coronavirus lockdown. Stage two, which allowed for close-contact training for elite athletes, was published last Monday.
Horse racing is due to resume at Newcastle on Monday with the first major meeting, involving the 2000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket, coming on June 6.
Premier League football is scheduled to restart on June 17 with the English Football League set to follow later in the month, subject to club votes and approval from police and other safety bodies.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport guidance has been issued in consultation with England’s deputy chief medical officers, Public Health England and medical representatives across sports governing bodies.
As well as ensuring no spectators are present at events, conditions have been made for sports fixtures to go ahead.
Participants must travel alone and in private transport, while everyone entering a venue must be screened for Covid-19 and anyone suspected of having the virus must be placed in isolation.
A one-way system of movement must be established around the venue, while social distancing must be maintained “where possible” – including celebrations and sitting on the bench.
Dressing room use is to be minimised although showers can be taken in line with guidelines, advice for personal protective equipment must be followed., while physio treatment should be limited to essentials.
Oliver Dowden, the secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “The wait is over. Live British sport will shortly be back on in safe and carefully controlled environments.
“This guidance provides the safe framework for sports to resume competitions behind closed doors. It is now up to individual sports to confirm they can meet these protocols and decide when it’s right for them to restart.
“This is a significant moment for British sport. By working with clinicians every step of the way, we are creating the safest possible environments for everyone involved.”


Unrest In America

Unrest In America
Across the U.S. protests raged following the killing of a Black man at the hands of a white police officer.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--Foodbank With 600 People Queuing Daily Has Supply Renewed After Council U-Turn

Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
A London food bank that has hundreds of desperate families queuing daily for rations was temporarily left to fend for itself after the local council stopped providing supplies.
Advertisement
The Dad’s House food bank in Elephant and Castle, south London, says it has given out 32,000 meals since it began operating at the start of April - but Southwark Council pulled its support last week because it was helping vulnerable people who had not been referred directly by the local authority.
However, after an intervention by HuffPost UK, the council said there had been a “misunderstanding” and that it would restart deliveries “as soon as possible”.
Managers say the food bank has seen a massive surge in households needing help as a result of people locally being laid off from their jobs during the coronavirus outbreak.
William McGranaghan, who set up the charity in 2008, said five weeks ago the food bank was attracted a queue of 20 people, but that has now reached 600 and families are standing in line for hours.
Advertisement
The families are largely drawn from the South American community based in the area. Many are single parents who are now struggling to feed their children because they have no access to state benefits.
McGranaghan had posted a video on social media showing a snaking queue at the food bank which has now had more than 200,000 views.
The queue for @dadshouse independent food bank yesterday morning. Does the Government understand the scale of what’s unfolding? Yet more food parcels will not address what’s driving food poverty @MayorofLondon @DefraGovUK @DWP @coyleneil pic.twitter.com/HBnR85J2E6 — IFAN UK (@IFAN_UK) May 23, 2020
After the U-turn, McGranaghan told HuffPost UK: “I’m over the moon by the decision.
“Just today we’ve had 500 people queuing, and the situation is going to get worse before it gets better - especially with the furlough scheme ending.
“We can do more working together with the council than without them.”
McGranaghan explained many of the people relying on the food bank were working as nannies and cleaners who had lost their jobs rather than be furloughed.
Advertisement
The council had been the “backbone” of its supply, providing two half van loads a week, and volunteers were having to buy food to give out to people themselves as donations dried up.
He sai: “It’s soul-destroying when you see the desperation in people’s eyes.”
Councillor Kieron Williams, Southwark Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We’ve made it an absolute priority throughout this pandemic to protect our most vulnerable residents.
“We’re providing food and support to over 13,000 people, delivered in partnership with a wide range of community groups. As part of this work we’ve agreed a package of funding for our network of local food banks, including for Dad’s House so they can support more people than they could with the limited food parcels we were initially able to provide them.
“What’s clear is this crisis has shown just how precarious the lives of millions in our country are. Charities like Dad’s House are providing a lifeline, but we all need to ask what’s gone so wrong with our national social security safety net that thousands have been left unable to afford food”
Last month, Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust charity, told the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee of MPs that Covid-19 had an “instantaneous and profound” impact on the number of people using foodbanks.
Advertisement
Revie said: “We analysed the last two weeks of March, compared to the same time last year and we identified that there was an 81% increase in demand and quite alarmingly a 122% increase in the number of children receiving food.
“What this told us was the number of families with children that were coming to us had doubled from its normal levels, so we’re definitely seeing a disproportionately high number of children.”
MPs were also told how consumer stockpiling in March led to a “dramatic drop” in supplies going to foodbanks.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, a charity aimed at relieving food poverty, said: “Initially with the dramatic increase in consumer demand and clearing of shelves and stocking that went on, our supply chain was cut off at the knees.
“The supermarkets, although they reacted incredibly quickly, had to divert all their attention and focus into just trying to find whatever supply they could.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-30--UK Records 215 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours, Bringing Total To 38,376

The latest figures were published on Saturday. REUTERS
Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 38,376 – an increase of 215 over 24 hours.
Advertisement
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden announced the updated figures – which are accurate as of 5pm on Friday – at the government’s daily coronavirus press conference.
Meanwhile, Dowden said another 2,445 positive test results were recorded in the 24-hour period up to 9am on Saturday, with almost 128,000 tests carried out or dispatched.
Overall, a total of 4,171,408 tests have been carried out in the UK and 272,826 cases have been confirmed positive.
Earlier in the day, NHS England announced the deaths 146 patients in hospital from the virus.
These patients were aged between 46 and 97 years old, officials said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Dominic Raab Says It's Not His 'Job' To Comment On Donald Trump's Response To Killing Of George Floy

Dominic Raab Says It's Not His 'Job' To Comment On Donald Trump's Response To Killing Of George Floyd

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Dominic Raab has said it is not his “job” to comment on Donald Trump’s response to the protests in the United States over the death of George Floyd.
The foreign secretary said footage of Floyd’s killing while he was being restrained by police in the US was “very distressing”.
Advertisement
But he added he did not want to comment on what the president had said.
Trump has appeared to support tough tactics being used by the National Guard as protests spread across America in response to the killing.
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in protest across the US in recent days, with more than 1,300 having been arrested in 16 cities since Thursday night.
Trump has characterised some of the protests as “mob violence” and said he wanted police to “stop it cold”.
Asked about Trump’s response, Raab told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning: “I’ve long kept to the self-imposed guidance not to comment on what president Trump says or indeed other world leaders, it is not really what my job is.”
Advertisement
He also told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I’m not going to start commenting on the commentary or indeed the press statements that other world leaders make, or indeed the US president.
“Footage of what happened to George Floyd was very distressing, as has been the scenes across America of the rioting and some of the violence.
“And what we do know is that the lead suspect has now been charged with murder, there is a federal review and we want to see de-escalation of all of those tensions and American come together.”
Protests over the death of Floyd and other police killings of black people in the US grew on Saturday from New York to Tulsa to Los Angeles.
Police vehicles were set ablaze and injuries mounted as the country convulsed through another night of unrest after months of coronavirus lockdowns.
Advertisement
Trump issued tweets taunting protesters and praising the secret service, who used shields and pepper spray to push back people gathered outside the White House to protest Floyd’s death and the president’s response.
The president tweeted he had watched from inside as officers “let the ‘protesters’ scream & rant as much as they wanted, but whenever someone …. got too frisky or out of line, they would quickly come down on them, hard – didn’t know what hit them”.
The protests – which began in Minneapolis following Floyd’s death after a police officer held a knee to his neck until he stopped breathing – have left parts of that city a grid of broken windows, burned-out buildings and ransacked stores.
The unrest has since become a national phenomenon as protesters decry years of deaths at police hands.
More than 1,300 people have been arrested in 16 cities since Thursday, with more than 500 of those happening in Los Angeles on Friday.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Coronavirus Catch Up: Government 'Making It Up' On Schools Reopening, Union Leader Claims

Get the latest on coronavirus. Sign up to the Daily Brief for news, explainers, how-tos, opinion and more.
The government is “making it up as it goes along” on the approach to reopening schools, and education union leader has sad a day before some pupils return to classes.
Advertisement
The latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care state that 38,376 people have now died in the UK after contracting Covid-19, and 272,826 people have tested positive.
Here’s the latest.
Government ‘making it up as it goes along’ on schools, says teaching union
Some pupils are due to return to the classroom on Monday. monkeybusinessimages via Getty Images
The government revised its plans to reopen schools 41 times since May 12 because of errors in judgment, an education union leader has claimed.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), has added to calls for ministers to rethink the reopening of schools on Monday.
Advertisement
Ministers have said their five key tests required for the easing of lockdown have been met – and schools will admit more pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 from Monday.
The prerequisites for lockdown easing were: ensuring the NHS can cope; a “sustained and consistent” fall in the daily death rate; the rate of infection decreasing to “manageable levels”; ensuring testing and PPE supplies can meet future demand; and ensuring any future adjustments would not risk a peak that could “overwhelm” the NHS.
Bousted argued the five tests have not been met, and she pointed out that members of Sage, the government’s scientific advisory body, including Professor Peter Horby, have voiced the same opinion.
Prof Horby, chair of the New Emergency Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), along with fellow Sage scientists Sir Jeremy Farrar and Professor John Edmunds, said ministers are taking a risk by easing lockdown restrictions on Monday.
Speaking on the Sophy Ridge show on Sky News on Sunday, Bousted said children should instead return to school on June 15 when the infection rate should be lower.
Advertisement
She said: “The government’s plans on reopening schools since they were first produced on May 12 have been changed 41 times. And that’s because they’ve constantly had to be revised as things they have forgotten, things they didn’t know, and things they got wrong had to be added in.
“That’s hugely added to the stresses of school leaders and teachers, because we have a Government simply who they think is just making it up as it goes along.”
Millions shielding can leave their homes from Monday, government says
Millions of people most vulnerable to the virus have not left their homes since lockdown began. Justin Paget via Getty Images
Extremely vulnerable people in England who have been ‘shielding’ during the coronavirus lockdown will be able to spend time outside from Monday.
This group – which includes 2.2 million people – will be able to go outside with members of their household, communities secretary Robert Jenrick will confirm on Sunday.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, those who live on their own will be able to meet up with one other person outside.
Social-distancing rules must be maintain during these outings, the government said.
Boris Johnson thanked people who have been shielding, saying the “patience and sacrifice” of this group had saved “thousands of lives”.
Fears US protests could lead to new virus outbreaks
Anti-racism protests have raged across the US for several days, calling for justice for George Floyd who was killed by police. Alex Wong via Getty Images
The mayor of Atlanta, one of dozens of US cities hit by massive anti-racism protests after the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, has warned demonstrators about the risks of contracting Covid-19.
Health experts fear silent carriers of the virus who have no symptoms could unwittingly infect others at gatherings with people packed cheek to jowl and cheering and jeering, many without masks. One protester said she had no choice but to demonstrate. “It’s not okay that in the middle of a pandemic we have to be out here risking our lives,” Spence Ingram, a Black woman, said after marching with other protesters to the state capitol in Atlanta on Friday. “But I have to protest for my life and fight for my life all the time.” Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in her warning issued on Saturday evening, said: “There is still a pandemic in America that’s killing black and brown people at higher numbers.” Minnesota governor Tim Walz said after another night of unrest in Minneapolis that many protesters wearing masks were simply trying to hide their identities and “cause confusion and take advantage of this situation”. The protests started in Minneapolis following the death there of George Floyd last Monday after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck. The state’s health commissioner has warned the protests are almost certain to fuel new cases of the virus. Minnesota reported 35 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, a single-day high since the start of the outbreak, and 29 more on Friday. “We have two crises that are sandwiched on top of one other,” Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said. The US has been worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 1.7m cases and over 103,000 deaths. Labour frontbencher resigns as whip after admitting breaking lockdown rules
Labour MP for Canterbury Rosie Duffield. PA Archive/PA Images
A Labour MP has resigned from her frontbench role after admitting that she had broken lockdown rules.
Rosie Duffield, MP for Canterbury, has apologised and is no longer a Labour whip after she met her partner while they were living separately, in breach of coronavirus restrictions.
The Mail on Sunday said that she met her married partner for a long walk in her constituency in April, and that the MP also did not deny he visited her constituency house.
Duffield, 48, told the paper that the pair observed the two-metre social distancing rules, but these incidents were before meetings between people from different households was allowed.
Advertisement
The pair are now thought to be living in the same property and her partner has separated from his wife.
In a statement Duffield said: “My partner and I have been attempting to navigate a difficult personal situation as responsibly as possible. I apologise that during that process, we breached the guidelines.
“A relationship breakdown is difficult at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic.
“I hope people can understand why I took the steps I did and know that I take responsibility for the breaches that occurred and for which I apologise.”
90,000 mosques reopened in Saudi Arabia
Tens-of-thousands of mosques have reopened in Saudi Arabia after being closed during lockdown. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tens of thousands of mosques across Saudi Arabia have reopened for the first time in more than two months, but worshippers have been ordered to follow strict guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus and Islam’s holiest site in Mecca remains closed to the public.
Advertisement
The nation’s government prepared for the reopening of around 90,000 mosques by sanitising prayer rugs, washrooms and shelves holding copies of the Koran.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs said millions of text messages were sent to people in multiple languages to inform them about the new rules for public prayer, which include keeping two metres apart, wearing face masks at all times and abstaining from greeting one another with handshakes or hugs.
Children under 15 are not allowed inside mosques, while the elderly and those with chronic conditions are being told to pray at home.
People are advised to perform the mandatory ablution at home since washrooms at mosques will be closed, to use hand sanitiser and to bring their own prayer rugs and copies of the Koran.
The restrictions call for mosques to open just 15 minutes before each of the five daily prayers and to close 10 minutes after they conclude. Friday sermons and prayers are to last no longer than 15 minutes.
Advertisement
The new measures come as Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world begin to loosen restrictions and stay-at-home orders following weeks of curfews and lockdowns.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Dominic Raab Says Cities Could Be Locked Down As Scientists Warn Of 'Great Risk'

BBC
Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
Dominic Raab has confirmed the government would reimpose lockdown measures on entire cities if there was a local surge in the spread of coronavirus.
Advertisement
The foreign secretary said on Sunday morning the UK “can’t just stay in lockdown forever” but the government would “absolutely” reimpose “targeted” restrictions.
From Monday, small groups of people will be able to meet and more than two million clinically extremely vulnerable people who have been shielding since March will finally be allowed to spend time with other people outdoors.
But several leading scientists have warned lifting the lockdown too quickly risks the virus getting out of control again.
Professor Peter Openshaw, who sits on the the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) to the government, said people must proceed with “great caution”.
Advertisement
Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at Edinburgh University, said she feels is it “inevitable” that England will see a rise in cases.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, yesterday warned the public: “Don’t tear the pants out of it, and don’t go further than the guidance actually says.”
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show this morning, Raab said if there was “any up-tick in one particular locality, or one particular setting, we’ve got the ability to take targeted measures”.
Asked if there was a rise in cases in, for example, Greater Manchester, the government had the ability and will to lockdown the city, the first secretary of state said: “Yes, absolutely”.
“We will make sure we’ve got the panoply of measures that can be taken in a targeted way,” Raab said.
Advertisement
“We’ve definitely got the ability, and we will target specific settings, or particular regions, or geographic areas, yes.”
Openshaw told the same programme that “unlocking too fast carries a great risk”.
“We do need to proceed with great, great care at this point,” he said.
Asked if the government was moving too fast, he said: “I think there is a pretty unanimous message now that we need to take this slowly and go step by step.
“We need to evaluate the effect of each step before we move to the next one. I don’t hear any great dissent amongst the amongst the advisers who are speaking in public at the moment.”
Sridhar told Sky News it was “not the right measure right now to open up”.
“It’s a big risk and gamble for exiting lockdown with a larger number of deaths than we did when we actually entered lockdown months back,” she said.
The professor said a rise in the number of coronavirus cases “is right now inevitable looking at the numbers”.
Advertisement
Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said this morning the gradual easing of lockdown has “got to be a safe one”.
“There is a balance of risk here, I think anyone would appreciate that,” she told Marr.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--US HuffPost Reporter Arrested While Peacefully Covering NYC Anti-Racism Protest

LOADING ERROR LOADING
HuffPost US reporter Chris Mathias was taken into custody Saturday while covering anti-racism protests in New York City.
Mathias, a senior reporter who covers the far right, disinformation and hate, had been reporting for days on the protests, prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He was in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn when police took him into custody.
Advertisement
Mathias was released Sunday around 1am local time after being taken to the 72nd Precinct in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn.
HuffPost senior reporter Chris Mathias was taken into custody while covering an anti-racism protest in New York on Saturday. Phoebe Leila Barghouty
Reporter Phoebe Leila Barghouty tweeted that she saw the NYPD “violently arresting” Mathias and others as they tried to clear a street.
“They grabbed Chris aggressively and turned him over on either a car or a barricade to zip tie. I believe he was yelling, ‘Let me get my phone,’ but they obviously didn’t [let him] and they just took him away from there,” Barghouty told HuffPost. (Mathias’ wife told HuffPost US his phone had been knocked out of his hand.)
Advertisement
Barghouty said she didn’t see Mathias provoke or act aggressively towards police.
Mathias identified himself as a journalist while at the protest and was wearing a press badge, which can be seen hanging from his neck in the photo below.
Mathias' press badge can be seen hanging from his neck. Phoebe Leila Barghouty
Danny Gold, a journalist and documentary filmmaker who witnessed the incident, said “there should have been no doubt among police that he was press.”
“It was an extremely chaotic situation, but Chris was clearly wearing his press [badge] and identifying himself as a reporter,” Gold said.
A spokesperson with the New York City Mayor’s Office told HuffPost via email that they “apologise” for what Mathias “experienced tonight.”
Advertisement
HuffPost executive editor Hillary Frey emphasised that Mathias was just doing his job when he was taken into custody.
“Chris Mathias is a dogged, empathetic reporter who was arrested on Saturday night while doing his job as a journalist,” Frey said Saturday. “We are alarmed that police would treat him or any other clearly credentialed journalist in this manner, and prevent them from documenting the protests happening here and around the country.”
We are extremely alarmed that our reporter Chris Mathias (@letsgomathias) has apparently been taken into NYPD custody while doing his job as a journalist. We demand that he be released immediately. CC: @NYPDnews @NYCMayor @NewYorkStateAG — HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 31, 2020
HuffPost US’s union, organised under the Writers Guild of America, East, also condemned the arrest.
“Tonight a member of our unit was arrested with his press badge clearly displayed,” the union said in a statement. “We condemn in the strongest terms law enforcement interference with our right to do our job.”
Mathias was one of many journalists targeted by police during nationwide protests against racism.
Some reporters in Minnesota said they were hit with rubber bullets, while others were hit with tear gas. Freelance photographer Linda Tirado was shot in the eye while covering protests in Minneapolis. A journalist in Louisville, Kentucky, shouted “I’m getting shot!” as she was hit with pepper bullets on live television.
Advertisement
Thousands of people gathered in cities across the U.S. Saturday to demonstrate against racism and police brutality, days after Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. Floyd, who was Black, repeatedly said he could not breathe and eventually became unresponsive.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Lady Gaga Brands Donald Trump A 'Racist Fool' As She Shares Outrage Over George Floyd’s Death

LOADING ERROR LOADING
A video of the unarmed 46-year-old Black man’s arrest on Monday showed him gasping for breath while a white police officer knelt on his neck before he died.
Advertisement
Derek Chauvin, the police officer in question, has now been charged with murder following days of protests across the US, pitting protesters against police in a number of major cities.
Lady Gaga and Donald Trump Rex
In a lengthy statement shared on Sunday morning, Lady Gaga called for change as she hit out at systematic racism and the US president for “fueling racist activity”.
“I have a lot of things to say about this,” she begins. “But the first thing I want to say is I’m afraid to say anything that will incite further anger, although that is precisely the emotion that’s justified.
Advertisement
“I do not wish to contribute to more violence, I wish to contribute to a solution.
“I am as outraged by the death of George Floyd as I have been by the deaths of exponentially too many black lives over hundreds of years that have been taken from us in this country as a result of systematic racism and the corrupt systems that support it.”
A mural of George Floyd painted by the artist eme_freethinker on a wall at Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany, May 30, 2020. SIPA USA/PA Images
The singer continued: “The voices of the black community have been silenced for too long and that silence has proven deadly time and time again. And no matter what they do to protest, they are still met with no compassion by the leaders that are meant to protect them.
“Everyday people in America are racist, that’s a fact.
“Right now is a critical time for the black community to be supported by all other communities so we can put a stop to something that is intrinsically wrong by the grace of God or whatever creator you do or do not believe in.
Advertisement
“We have known for a long time that President Trump has failed. He holds the most powerful office in the world, yet offers nothing but ignorance and prejudice while black lives continue to be taken.
“We have known he is a fool, and a racist, since he took office. He is fuelling a system that is already rooted in racism, and racist activity, and we can all see what is happening.
“It’s time for a change. I urge people to speak gently to each other, speak with passion, inspiration, and impress the importance of this issue until the systems that keep us sick die, instead of people we love.”
She concluded: “We MUST show our love for the black community. As a white, privileged woman, I take an oath to stand by that.
“We haven’t, as a privileged community, done enough to fight racism and stand up for those people who are being killed by it. This isn’t justice. This is an epic tragedy that defines our country and has for a long time.
Advertisement
“I am sad. I am angry. And I will use the words that I can find to communicate what needs to change in as an effective and non-violent way as possible for me.”
The Born This Way singer’s words come just a day after fellow artist Taylor Swift also spoke out against Trump, accusing him of of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism”.
Taylor Swift Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
The singer quoted a tweet from the president that he said was addressed at the “thugs” who are “dishonouring the memory of George Floyd” with the protests.
Trump added: “Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Advertisement
Twitter placed a message alongside his tweet, warning that it breached the site’s rules for glorifying violence.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Police Crackdowns Escalate As Protesters Across The US Demand Justice For George Floyd

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Protests prompted by the police killing of George Floyd popped up in even more cities across the US on Saturday as tens-of-thousands of people continued to demand justice for Black victims of police brutality, and in many cities they were met with increasingly heavy-handed police crackdowns.
By late Saturday evening, at least 25 cities across 16 states had imposed curfews in response to the demonstrations, CNN reported.
Advertisement
Swathes of people gathered on the streets of Austin, Texas; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Fayetteville, North Carolina; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami, Florida; New York City; Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; Washington, DC.
As night fell, tensions increased in numerous cities. Police in Indianapolis said they were investigating multiple shootings downtown where protests had turned violent. At least one person had been killed and several people were injured in the shootings, Randal Taylor, police chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters late Saturday.
“Enough is enough. Indianapolis, we are better than this,” Taylor said, adding the downtown area was “not safe at this time.”
At least 13 police officers in Philadelphia were injured when demonstrations became violent, The New York Times reported.
Advertisement
In LA, the National Guard was deployed, according to the Los Angeles Times. “This is no longer a protest,” Mayor Gil Garcetti said Saturday night. “This is destruction.”
In numerous cities, police employed brutal tactics. In Brooklyn, a police SUV drove through a crowd standing around a blockade, knocking several people backward, as seen in a video filmed from a building.
Another video, apparently filmed from a different angle, shows protesters throwing plastic bottles and traffic cones at a police vehicle before a second vehicle arrives and drives through the group of people.
Advertisement
Earlier in Brooklyn, protesters set fire to a large bin and at least two police vehicles. Police tried to keep groups of protesters separated from each other and were seen arresting people, according to HuffPost’s Christopher Mathias, who was reporting from the scene and was later arrested while peacefully reporting.
Cops keep charging and pepper spraying and arresting people pic.twitter.com/7yt4nwZh2o — Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) May 31, 2020
We got a dumpster fire and another cop car on fire in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/hHHL19uN8S — Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) May 31, 2020
In Nashville, protesters began to disperse once a smoke bomb went off after nightfall at an “I Will Breathe” demonstration, where some had set fires and smashed windows in City Hall and a courthouse.
Advertisement
Cops responding with A LOT of tear gas. pic.twitter.com/GXYE0JfvHZ — Saja Hindi (@BySajaHindi) May 31, 2020
In an attempt to quell protests overnight, at least 25 cities implemented curfews to warn demonstrators to clear the streets — and give law enforcement power to crack down. In LA and Chicago, anyone out after 9pm could be arrested for violating curfew, officials said. Denver police were using tear gas Saturday night to scatter protesters soon after curfew went into effect.
Many protesters faced a time crunch, because a number of curfews were announced shortly before they went into effect — giving people insufficient time to comply with the orders. In Seattle, the curfew went into effect 14 minutes after it was announced. Chicago’s curfew was announced with just 20 minutes’ notice.
At many of Saturday’s demonstrations, protesters chanted and held signs, repeating the words that Floyd, 46, uttered as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes on Monday: “I can’t breathe.”
Morgan Davis, a 29-year-old Los Angeles resident, told HuffPost she came out to protest on Saturday because she is tired of Black people, including herself, being “terrorised.”
Advertisement
“I came out today because for too long, people who look like me have been terrorised for no reason except [for] our skin colour, and enough is enough,” she said. “I shouldn’t be afraid to die just because I exist.”
Morgan Davis, a protester in Los Angeles, sent me this video of protesters standing clear + applauding as an ambulance drives by.
She told me: “I came out today bc for too long people who look like me have been terrorized for no reason except our skin color + enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/UpwiBDn8AM — Carla H. Russo (@carlalove) May 31, 2020
The protest for George Floyd continues in @CityOfFayNC, with chants of “I can’t breathe,” to repeat Floyd’s final words. pic.twitter.com/sa49DKCIjZ — RachaelRiley (@RachaelRiley85) May 30, 2020
Hundreds of people turned out in Salt Lake City. In Washington DC, protesters gathered near the White House as police attempted to hold them back. Hundreds of people in Fayetteville came out for two separate protests.
In Salt Lake City, a police car was overturned and spray-painted, and in Cleveland, a local reporter took a video of two police cars on fire.
Advertisement
In Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon, protesters moved aside to let an ambulance pass and cheered as the driver sounded the siren. Some protesters paused their march to dance in the streets.
“It feels like there are more things that connect us than separate us. A lot of times people try and divide us by what we look instead of seeing the human in us,” Davis told HuffPost in a text message during the protests in Los Angeles.
She added later: “It’s time for people to collectively do the right thing by each other and end racism for good.”
Protests across the country have given rioters an opportunity to burn buildings and assault police, leading to mass property damage and violence in numerous cities. For law enforcement, determining the proper response to unrest is an extremely difficult task. A federal protective service officer was killed in Oakland on Friday, and countless officers have been injured.
Advertisement
But there have also been countless instances of overreach and abuse by law enforcement officials, especially with unnecessary use of less-lethal projectiles, such as rubber bullets. Numerous videos have circulated of police firing rubber bullets at and arresting protesters who clearly posed no threat.
After the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, the Justice Department commissioned an after-action report to evaluate the response of law enforcement officers. The report stated that less-lethal munitions could be warranted in many protest situations, but that officers should take care not to use those weapons against citizens simply exercising their constitutional rights and choose a course of action that is not just authorised, but “is right.”
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck as Floyd struggled for breath, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Friday, but the other three officers have not been charged.
President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that anti-fascist activists and “left-wing groups” were responsible for the violence at the protests.
“The violence is being led by Antifa and other left-wing groups who are terrorising the innocent, destroying jobs, hurting businesses and burning down buildings,” he said at a press conference.
Advertisement
“Radical left criminals, thugs and others, all throughout our country and throughout the world, will not be able to set communities ablaze,” Trump also said. “The leadership of the National Guard and the Department of Justice are now in close communication with state and city officials in Minnesota and we’re coordinating with local law enforcement.”
At a later speech on Saturday, Trump offered a more reserved statement.
“We support the right of peaceful protesters, and we hear their pleas,” he said. “But what we are now seeing on the streets of our cities has nothing to do with justice or peace.”
In Louisville at this hour. pic.twitter.com/YHVSTT6zaq — Marcus Green (@MarcusGreenWDRB) May 31, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--Thomas The Tank Engine Narrator Michael Angelis Dies, Aged 68

Michael Angelis, best known as the long-term narrator of Thomas The Tank Engine series Thomas & Friends, has died at the age of 76, his agent said.
The actor died suddenly while at home with his wife on Saturday.
Michael Angelis (1952-2020) David Fisher/Shutterstock
Angelis lent his voice to the children’s TV programme for 13 series, taking over from Ringo Starr in 1991, when the programme was called Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends.
Advertisement
He was best known to adult audiences for his role as Arnie in September Song, Martin Niarchos in GBH, Lucien Boswell in The Liver Birds and as Mickey Startup in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
RIP Michael Angelis, from 1991-2012 he was the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. Personally I felt he was the best narrator for the series and listening to his voice on countless video tapes was a huge part of my childhood.
He was really useful indeed! pic.twitter.com/ykKGkrckPb — Isaac Whittaker-Dakin (@IWhittakerDakin) May 31, 2020
He also made appearances in Casualty, The Bill, Holby City and Heartbeat.
Born in Liverpool, Angelis first appeared on screen in the 1970s in programmes such as Z Cars, Thirty-Minute Theatre and an episode of Coronation Street, before stints in Minder, World’s End and Boys From The Blackstuff.
He was married to Coronation Street actress Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt, from 1991 to 2001, and later married Jennifer Khalastchi.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--We Found Out How To Make These Ridiculously Good-Looking Doughnuts

HuffPost UK
We’re here to guide you through the coronavirus lockdown. Sign up to the Life newsletter for daily tips, advice, how-tos and escapism.
If there’s one thing the nation has united on in lockdown, it’s baking. Banana bread, mostly, but still. But if you’re looking to take your skills in the kitchen up a notch, have a go at these incredibly delicious-looking doughnuts.
Advertisement
Bread Ahead, a bakery and baking school in London’s Borough Market, has shared its special recipe with HuffPost UK.
After the success of the bakery’s live tutorials on Instagram, it’s now launched full baking courses online. Accessible globally, for just £25, those tuning in will be able to bake treats such as a Victoria sponge, focaccia, and ciabatta – among other tasty bakes.
Here’s a sneak peek of one of the yummy bakes things you could make your own. We’re not saying it’s easy, but we’re pretty damn sure it’ll be worth it.
Advertisement
You will need:
170g strong white flour 15g caster sugar 3g salt 1/4 lemon zested 40g water 1 medium egg 5g fresh yeast or 3g if using dry 40g softened butter 2 litres oil, for frying (rapeseed, sunflower or corn) 100g caster sugar, for dusting A filling of your choice – jam, chocolate spread, custard. Whatever you like!
Method:
1. Bring all of the dough ingredients apart from the butter together in a bowl, tip onto the table, and using the heel of your hand, knead for five minutes.
2. Let the dough rest for one minute. If using an electric mixer, take care that it doesn’t overheat – it needs to rest as well as the dough! Continue to stretch and tear the dough, adding the butter a quarter at a time, until it’s all incorporated. Knead the dough for a further five minutes until it’s smooth and elastic when pulled.
3. If using a mixer, start it up again on a medium speed and slowly add the butter to the dough, a quarter at a time. Once it’s all incorporated, mix on high speed for five minutes. Return your dough to the bowl, cover with a plate and leave to prove until it has doubled in size. Knock back the dough, then re-cover the bowl and put into the fridge to chill overnight.
The next day... (hey, we didn’t say this was easy)
4. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut into 50g pieces – you should get about six. Roll them into smooth, tight buns and place them on a floured baking tray, leaving plenty of room between them as you don’t want them to stick together while they prove. Cover lightly with a tea towel and leave for two hours, or until about doubled in size.
5. Get a heavy-based saucepan and fill it up to the halfway point with sunflower oil (be extremely careful, as hot oil is dangerous). Heat the oil to 180°C. When the oil is heated to the correct temperature, carefully remove the doughnuts from the tray by sliding a floured pastry scraper underneath them, taking care not to deflate them, and put them into the oil.
Advertisement
HuffPost UK Bread Ahead
6. Do not overcrowd the fryer – do two to three per batch, depending on the size of your pan. Fry for two minutes on each side until golden brown – they puff up and float. Remove from the fryer and place on kitchen paper, then toss them in a bowl of caster sugar while still warm.
7. Repeat until all are fried, but make sure the oil temperature is correct every time before you fry – if it’s too high, they’ll colour too quickly and burn, and will be raw in the middle. If it’s too low, the oil will be absorbed into the doughnut and it will become greasy.
8. Set aside to cool. To fill the doughnuts, make a hole in the crease of each one (anywhere around the white line between the top and bottom). Fill a piping bag with your desired filling – think jam, custard, or chocolate sauce – and pipe into the doughnut until swollen with pride.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-05-31--The Best Instagram Recipes From May 2020

Now that we’re into our third month of this new lifestyle, it seems the world’s baking obsession hasn’t slowed down a bit ― May’s 10 most-loved recipes include luscious fruit bars, molten mug cakes, peanut butter-stuffed brownies, Meyer lemon bars, cream cheese biscuit strawberry cobbler and an intense chocolate cake.
There are a few savoury choices in the mix, as well, including a meaty recipe that’s perfect for grilling season and a couple one-skillet wonders that’ll change your weeknight meals. One of them is loaded with Tater Tots ― need we say more?
Take a look at the recipes our followers loved the most, and give your favourites a try.