Author: LoveWorld UK

Tony Blair tonight rowed back on his claim that anti-vaxxers were ‘idiots’, by admitting: ‘I was a bit undiplomatic in my use of language’. The former Prime Minister highlighted the rapid spread of the Omicron variant as a cause for concern, saying Britons who decline the jab were ‘going to get it (Covid)’, which would strain the NHS. But after describing people who refused the vaccine as beyond ‘irresponsible’ on Times Radio this morning, he then tempered the remarks in a subsequent interview on BBC Radio 4’s PM. ‘Possibly I was a little too undiplomatic in my use of language,’ he said tonight…

Antonio Conte has had one route to cup glory unceremoniously closed off this week. The Tottenham manager was never going to allow another one to slip through his fingers. Conte remains furious at how his club’s Europa Conference League campaign ended on Monday – in the forfeiting of the final group phase tie against Rennes after Covid positives ripped through the dressing-room – and he wants a solution via the courts. Spurs got the job done in more conventional fashion here, responding to Conte’s urgings to secure a frantic derby victory. Roared on by 5,700 travelling fans, West Ham played…

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the misconduct watchdog over allegations officers failed to step in and shut down ‘lockdown-breaching’ parties in and around Downing Street – and then didn’t investigate them properly later. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb wrote to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to raise concerns over the reported event on December 18 2020 and the lack of an investigation. The force has now replied to confirm her complaint has been split into two parts. Lady Jones had said there is a ‘case to answer’ for the Met ‘aiding and abetting a criminal offence, or deliberately failing…

Craig Tiley says Novak Djokovic wants to play the Australian Open but the tournament chief remains uncertain of the world No 1’s vaccination status. Tiley on Wednesday admitted a small cohort of players and staff would be allowed into Melbourne Park without being vaccinated after being granted medical exemptions. But, at this stage, no players had informed Open officials they had received an exemption. “Everyone who is coming in is vaccinated and there will be a small percentage – a very small percentage – that will have a medical exemption,” Tiley said. “So if any player, fan [or] workforce is on site…

President Joe Biden’s administration was directed on Monday to reply to a flurry of fresh challenges to its private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee, told administration officials to file responses to applications from faith groups, companies, and attorneys general from over half the states in the country by 4 p.m. on Dec. 30. That’s just days before the mandate’s deadline. “This case is finally where it belongs: the Supreme Court. OSHA has threatened to start punishing employers like our clients starting on January 10, and we’re grateful the court has ordered a briefing schedule that will…

Christmas train travel is already being badly disrupted by Omicron – and is only going to get worse – with almost one in ten staff now off sick or isolating and Britons now being urged to travel as soon as possible over the festive period because of cancellations, it was revealed today. Britain’s Rail Delivery Group has said that around one in 20 services were cancelled in the past week – up from an average of one in 40 – with passengers urged to check their train is running before they travel. Passengers face being crammed into carriages in the coming days…

Attorneys general (AG) from 24 states have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates for early education staff, and mask mandates for young children. Led by Louisiana AG Jeff Landry, the lawsuit (pdf) argues that the mandates involving Head Start, the country’s largest early education program, are unlawful, and exceed President Joe Biden’s statutory authority. Biden’s mandate, issued last month, applies to all preschool programs funded by the federal Head Start program, and affects hundreds of thousands of staff, volunteers, and preschool students across the country. It mandates vaccinations for staff, volunteers, and others in contact with students by…

Sources point out that picture of staff enjoying cheese and wine was taken from Chancellor’s complex overlooking the No 10 garden. Downing Street insiders are pointing the finger of suspicion at Treasury officials for the damaging leak of a photograph showing Boris Johnson, his wife, and No 10 advisers enjoying cheese and wine during lockdown. Sources inside No 10 have pointed out that the photograph was taken from a veranda reached from a first floor function room, which was being used by Rishi Sunak’s team and overlooks the Downing Street garden. A well-placed source said: “It has to be taken by…

Boris Johnson is desperately trying to manage splits in his Cabinet and among top scientists today after holding off imposing more Covid curbs before Christmas. The PM declared there will be no more restrictions yet despite massive pressure from scientists and medics who warn the NHS is at risk of being overwhelmed by the Omicron strain. The intervention last night came after a long and ‘fractious’ Cabinet meeting, where ministers including Rishi Sunak demanded more ‘evidence’ on the Omicron variant before signing off on further measures. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg is understood to have urged the government to ‘trust people’ to respond to the alarm…

A federal judge in Missouri has issued a temporary hold on the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in 10 U.S. states while litigation plays out. “We just beat the Biden Administration in court again,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced on Twitter late Monday. “This afternoon, we obtained a preliminary injunction against the vaccine mandate on federal contractors, halting enforcement of that mandate in Missouri and the other states in our coalition.” The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Noce, applies to Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Schmitt and Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, both Republicans, on Oct. 29 co-led the…