Plus, Costa Brits facing Brexit dilemmas
| Tackling the rule-breakers |
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| | | It's "preposterous" for anyone to claim they're unaware of the duty we all have to stop the spread of Covid 19 - so says the UK's most senior police officer, Dame Cressida Dick. Writing in the Times, she says her officers are still breaking up house parties, secret gambling gatherings and raves. She warned would-be rule-breakers they are increasingly likely to be fined, with 8,000 penalties issued in England and Wales since November. See the powers police currently have. The government has warned even tougher restrictions may need to be imposed if people fail to follow those already in place. But would that make a difference? England's chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty suggested on Monday there was limited value in "tinkering" with the rules, and BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says there's little political appetite to do it. Instead, ministers believe what's required is for all of us to realise how grave the situation really is, she adds. But others disagree, arguing too many activities are still defined as essential, too many premises still open, and the rules, for example around exercising, too soft. Fines issued to two women who drove five miles for a walk together have been withdrawn, but Boris Johnson has faced some criticism for travelling seven miles from Downing Street to go cycling. Here we look in detail at some of the options if ministers do decide to get tougher. In other news, the United Arab Emirates has been removed from the UK's safe travel list, meaning all arrivals from the country now need to self-isolate for 10 days. And two supermarkets, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, have said they're cracking down on shoppers who refuse to wear masks, unless they have a medical exemption. | |
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| It sadly comes as no surprise to learn that 2020 was the worst year on record for UK retailers, especially those focused on clothing and homeware. Food bucked the trend, particularly over Christmas, with the highest ever festive spending on groceries. But overall, retail sales declined by 0.3% across the year, and non-food by nearly a quarter - the biggest annual dip since the British Retail Consortium began collating the figures in 1995. The BRC says many retailers are struggling to survive and the government should extend the business rates holiday to save jobs. On Monday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak acknowledged the UK economy would "get worse before it gets better". | |
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| | | | | The last few weeks have seen a frenetic period of adjustment, and change, with people leaving Spain for good, and others replacing them before the rules for residency changed. "Our removal companies have never been busier," says Michel Euesden, who runs the Euro Weekly newspaper in Fuengirola, a paper that provides news for Brits living here. "They are taking the elderly and people who haven't had jobs for a while... and then they're bringing back younger generations with disposable income, and often with an online marketing presence, out here. So the dynamics have completely changed." | |
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| | Gavin Lee | Europe reporter, BBC News | |
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| | | | Questions of coronavirus compliance occupy a number of Tuesday's front pages. The Times says police are vowing to "fine the lockdown refuseniks", but the Guardian reports that forces have "set themselves up for a conflict with ministers" by insisting they will not enforce mask-wearing in supermarkets. The Daily Mail says scientists are urging the government to bring in "dramatic" new social distancing measures, suggesting we could be "heading for the 3m rule". But No 10 tell the paper there are "no plans" for a change. The Metro invokes the wartime slogan "careless talk costs lives" to reinforce the government message that people should stop "mingling" with friends in shops or while exercising. The Daily Mirror says Boris Johnson's bike ride seven miles from home "added to a them-and-us division first highlighted by Dominic Cummings' lockdown free pass". The Daily Star describes - and depicts - the PM as a "clown". Elsewhere, the Financial Times says shoppers in Northern Ireland are facing shortages of fresh fruit, vegetables and chilled meat because of Brexit disruption. | |
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| | | Eyesight Fears over lockdown screen time |
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