The Week UK - 28.03.2020

(Nandana) #1
NEWS 7

Snowdonia
Recordvisitornumbers:SnowdoniaNationalParkreported
havingits“busiestdayinlivingmemory”onSaturday,asgood
weather,andfearsofanimpending“lockdown”,prompted
thousandsofpeopletoheadforthegreatoutdoors.Photographs
showedlinesoftrafficonnarrowroads,teemingcarparksand
trailsofpeopleheadingupmountainpaths(seepage2 4 ).Officials
said thatevenatthesummits,crowdsweresuchthatmaintaining
effective“socialdistancing”hadbecomeimpossible.Similar
sceneswerereportedatother beautyspots. WestWitteringbeach,
inWestSussex,wasclosed after “thousands”ofpeople turnedup;
andthe NationalTrust,havingoriginallyhopedtokeepsome of
its gardensopen,feltobliged toshutupshopentirely.

Berkshire
Private schoolgoes public:Eton
College openeditsdoors this
weekto hu ndreds of new pupils.
With itsownpupils sent home,
the £42,500-a-yearschool said
it wouldinsteadwelcom ethe
offspringofl ocalpeople who
work in theNHSand ot hercritical
services. It will also provide accommodation forkey workers.The
schoolconfirmed itwouldpick up all costs. Other privateschools
expressed the hope that parentswon’ttry to challenge next term’s
school fees. Most fee-paying schoolsareoffering remote learning,
andstill payingteachers andother staff.


The UK at aglance

28 March 2020 THE WEEK

Edinburgh
Acquitted:AlexSalmondhasbeencleared
ofsexuallyassaultingninewomenatthe
timehewasScotland’sFirstMinister.A
juryfoundtheex-SNPleadernotguilty
of 1 2sexcharges;theuniquelyScottish
verdictof“notproven”wasreturnedon
achargeofintenttorape.Salmondhad
claimedduringhistrialthatthecharges
bytheninewomen–allcurrentorformer
ScottishgovernmentofficialsorSNP
politicians–hada“politicalpurpose”.
Hisalliessaytheverdictsraisebig
questionsforNicolaSturgeon’sgovernment,whichin 2019 paid
Salmond£ 512 ,00 0 inlegalcosts,afteradmittingithadbotched
aninternalinquiryintoclaimsofsexualmisconductagainsthim.


Pembrokeshire
Escape tothe country:Citydwellerswerewarnedthisweek
thatvisits tosecond homesandcaravanparksdo notconstitute
“essentialtravel”.TheGovernmentissuedtheadviceinresponse
tocomplaintsfromruralauthoritiesaround the countrythat
fleeingurbanitescould bringtheviruswiththem,endangeringthe
livesoflocal elderlypeople, and puttinganintolerable strain
on localservices. Estate agentshadreportedbeing inundated
with calls fromweal thyLondonerswilling to payup to £50,
amonthtorent houses in popula rrural areas.In variousplaces,
including Pembrokeshire, signs appearedurging outsiders to
please“go home”. In Scotland,Nicola Sturgeon said thatferries
to the islandswouldno longer acceptnon-essential passengers.

Belfast
Targetingthevulnerable:Thepublichas
beenurged tobewaryofoffers ofhelp
fromstrangers,followingaspateof
scammingincidents. InBelfast, policesaid
that“despicable” fraudstershadbeen
knockingon doors,offering servicessuch
asgrocerydeliveries,onlyto abscond
with victims’cash. InBarnet,criminalsweresaidtobe targeting
the elderly withoffersto decontaminatetheirhomes;in
Southampton and elsewhere,crooks have targetedfoodbanks,
posingasdeliverydriversinordertomakeoff with producefrom
supermarkets thathadbeenintendedforthe poor.


Sunderland
Joblosses:HundredsofworkersinSunderland,whoonly
narrowlyavoidedredundancywiththecollapseofThomasCook
inSeptember,arenowonceagainfacinganuncertainfuture
owingtothecoronavirus.Thefamily-ownedHaysTravel,which
boughtThomasCook,hasreducedworkinghourstozerofor
880 ofits5,700employees,andcutthehoursofallothersbyhalf,
afterlosing£400,0 00 inasingledaylastweek.Haysisbutoneof
manycompaniesacrossthecountrythataresheddingworkersin
anefforttostaysolvent.CarphoneWarehouse,whichhasstores
alloverthenortheast,isexpectedtomake2,9 00 jobsredundant
aspartofa“rescueplan”.Onlyafewweeksago,Sunderlandwas
cheeringgoodemploymentnewswhenNissanunveiledanew
£52m“press”lineatthelocalplantforitsnewQashqaicars.

London
Institutional racism:Adamningreport on theWindrush scandal,
accusing the Home Officeof showing“ins titutional ignorance and
thoughtlessnesstowards theissue ofrace” was published last
week.Its fiercecriticismofthe way the Government hadwrongly
deported thousandsof migrants who’d come toBritainafter
WWII,dismissing them from theirjobsand denying them NHS
care, promptedaprofuse apology from Home Secretary Priti Patel.
“There is nothingIcansay today thatwill undo thesuffering,”
shesaid. “Onbehalfofthisand succ essivegovernmentsIamtruly
sorry.” Inspectorof ConstabularyWendyWilliams,the author of
theWindrushLessons Learned Review, concludedthat, in tr ying
to show they were tough onimmigration, successive governments
hadshown “completedisregard”forthe Windrush generation.
Free download pdf