Events at No 10 - a sad and damaging time (No.3)

"The hardship under which citizens across the country worked, lived and sadly even died while observing the Government’s regulations and guidance rigorously are known only too well" - Sue Gray 31 January 2022

Two previous posts looked at events which allegedly took place at 10 Downing Street - posts of 13 January 2022 and 28 January 2022.

Civil servant Sue Gray has now completed what is referred to as an "Update" about her "Investigation into alleged gatherings on government premises during Covid restrictions"

A statement was made by the Prime Minister to the House of Commons - statement 31 January.

Hansard House of Commons 31 January 2022

An update - NOT a full report:

The published document

Events at No 10 ~ a sad and damaging time (No.2)

Developments:

A previous post looked at events alleged to have taken place at 10 Downing Street and some other government premises - Law and Lawyers: Events at Number 10 (obiterj.blogspot.com).

The saga has continued to develop with reports of parties on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral - Boris Johnson's staff accused of more rule-breaking parties inside No 10 - BBC News for which the Prime Minister apologised to HM The Queen.

Next came a report

Covid restrictions ~ legal changes ~ need for caution remains

Regulations:

Face-coverings - 

Regs requiring face-coverings expired at the end of 26 January 2022 -

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) Regulations 2021 (legislation.gov.uk)

Transport for London is continuing to require face coverings - see their Conditions of Carriage - TfL Conditions of Carriage.

It may be that some businesses will continue to ask for face coverings as a condition of entry to their premises.

Entry to venues and events -

Regulations

The UKSC ~ a course and an article

This post looks at a course, to be run online and starting in February. The course will examine role and inner workings of the UK Supreme Court. The post then considers a recent critical article by Professor Conor Gearty which analyses the approach taken by the UKSC in some of its recent cases. Finally, there are some observations arising from the article.  First, a little background.

Background:

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (UKSC) was created by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and is the final appellate court in both

In the news - 20 January

The pandemic:

On 19 January the government announced in the House of Commons that many of the legal restrictions relating to the coronavirus pandemic are to be removed later in January but guidance will continue in place.  See the Prime Minister's statement - Covid-19 Update - Hansard - UK Parliament

BBC News 19 January - Face mask rules and Covid passes to end in England

There are grounds to believe that the Omicron variant may

In the news 14 January 2022

Covid 19:  The pandemic continues with hospital admissions standing at 15,591 in the period 1 January 2022 to 8 January 2022. Data for 12 January showed a welcome fall in the number of positive tests but deaths within 28 days of a positive test had increased - 1724 in the period 5 to 12 January.  83.1% of the UK population aged 12 and over had received two doses of vaccine. 62.5% had received the 3rd (booster) dose which continues to be strongly recommended by the medical profession and the government.

Government data 

Law and Lawyers: Coronavirus Log ~ Part 11 ~ from 19 July 2021 (obiterj.blogspot.com)

On 13 January

Events at Number 10 - a sad and damaging time (No 1)

With updates ...

Much of the UK news over the last week has been dominated by the political row over an alleged ("bring your own drinks") party in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020. That was during the first "lockdown" and was a time when Regulations imposed both restrictions on the activities of individuals and closures on many forms of business. It was also a time of tragedy for many who suffered the loss of family members due to Covid.

The event on 20 May 2020 did not come to public attention until January 2022 and, at the time of writing, is the latest twist in the whole story.

In December 2021, an investigation into 3 events was set up by the Prime Minister. The events

Early Reaction to government's human rights proposals

This post looks at some of the immediate reaction to the government's consultation on the Human Rights Act 1998. At the time of writing (7 January 2022), the reaction has been almost entirely against most of the government's proposals. 

Actually leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) has been ruled out. That may be because renouncing the convention would be a "bad look" for a government which likes to lecture others on human rights (often justifiably) and which has a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UK membership expires in 2023). It would also play badly with the Council of Europe which is Europe's leading human rights organisation.  The Council comprises 47 member States and all are signatories to the ECHR. Northern Ireland adds further reason to remain a signatory given that human rights are woven into the peace settlement brought about with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Then there is the relationship with the European Union

In the news 6 January 2022

A miscellany of items in the news at the start of 2022 ....

Grenfell:

The Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry continues almost 5 years after the devastating fire on 14 June 2017.  The Phase 1 report was issued in 2019 - Phase 1 report - withe government accepting in principle the inquiry's recommendations - Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report: government response - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 

It has been reported that the Inquiry is to examine some former government Ministers and also the serving Secretary of State - The Guardian 4 January. An important witness is likely to be Lord Pickles who was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2010 to 2015.

Coronavirus / Omicron:

Omicron continues

Clean Air Zones

London's Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has been in operation since 2008 to encourage the use of less polluting vehicles and penalise the heaviest polluters. It operates within the Greater London Authority's boundaries. 

During 2022, similar schemes are to come into force in several more Clear Air Zones (CAZ).  The government has