The Times - UK (2020-10-17)

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2 2GM Saturday October 17 2020 | the times


News


Motorists are to be banned from even
touching their mobile phones while
driving in a tightening of the law.
Ministers will announce plans today
to ban handheld mobile phones at the
wheel amid concerns that too many
motorists continue to use them.
Under existing legislation, drivers
can only be prosecuted when they
make calls or send text messages and
emails. Other activities such as filming,
taking photos or scrolling through a
playlist are not defined as “interactive
communication”.
Reforms will close a legal loophole
that allows “rubbernecking” motorists
to film the scenes of crashes. Last year,
Ramsey Barreto successfully appealed
against his conviction under the Road
Traffic Act 1998 for using a phone to
film the aftermath of an accident in
London. The High Court agreed that
the act of filming did not count as inter-
active communication.
The Department for Transport will
begin a public consultation today into
plans to widen the scope of the law to

without additional measures and
everyone complying with the rules.
6 Britain’s coronavirus death toll rose
by 136 to 43,429, with 15,650 more
confirmed cases announced.
Mr Johnson was criticised last month
after announcing a “moonshot” plan
for a quick return to normal life through
mass testing, which scientists described
as unrealistic. This came after millions
of “pregnancy-style” antibody tests
bought by the government proved too
inaccurate to use this year.
At a press conference in Downing
Street yesterday the prime minister
struck a more cautious note, saying that
careful evaluation of how the tech-
nology functioned in the real world
would be needed, with officials saying

Mortgages for borrowers with less than
a 40 per cent deposit have been with-
drawn by one of Britain’s biggest banks
as fears grow of a credit crunch.
TSB no longer offers two-year mort-
gage deals for borrowers with less than
40 per cent equity in their homes. It
joins Barclays, which has also ended a
range of mortgages for borrowers with
less than a 25 per cent deposit. None of
the main high street banks offers mort-
gages for customers with less than
15 per cent equity.
A survey published by the Bank of
England this week found that banks
and building societies expected to
clamp down on lending for all borrow-
ers in the coming months.
The squeeze on loans has also led to
higher mortgage rates as buyers scrab-
ble for those deals left on the market.
The cost of the average five-year
fixed mortgage has risen from 2.26 per
cent in June to 2.62 per cent today, and
the average two-year deal has risen
from 2.02 per cent to 2.38 per cent.
“First-time buyers and those requir-
ing high loan-to-value mortgages have
found it tricky to get finance for a
while,” Jonathan Harris, managing dir-

that this was likely to take months. “We
won’t be able to use testing to get busi-
ness back to normal quickly,” Mr John-
son said. “In time, we want to use tests
to open, and keep open, more parts of
the economy that have sadly been
closed. But it is crucial that we make
sure such systems work safely.”
He said that it had become clear over
the past few weeks that “some of these
new tests are highly effective and can
help us save lives and jobs over winter”.
There are high hopes for “antigen”
tests to be piloted in schools and in
universities. These require people to
swab the inside of the mouth. They
are less accurate than lab-based
machine tests, with some missing as
many as half of positive cases, but it is
hoped that they will pick up the most
infectious cases.
Coronavirus reports, pages 6-

continued from page 1


Plan for million Covid tests a day Types of test


Standard PCR This involves
amplifying a sample of the virus’s
genetic material through repeated
heating and cooling and takes
several hours in a specialist lab.

RT-Lamp Allows test machines to
pick up genetic material without the
need for the temperature changes,
meaning results can come back in
20 minutes, but requires specialists.

Saliva Lamp Uses the same
RT-Lamp technology but with saliva
rather than a throat and nasal swab.

Lateral flow Requires a sample to
be run along the surface of an
absorbent pad. Quicker than other
tests but less accurate.

John Lewis


calls time on


sales pledge


Ben Martin Senior City Correspondent


John Lewis is to scrap its “never know-
ingly undersold” promise to customers
next year after almost a century.
The department store group said
yesterday that it planned to replace the
long-running price-matching policy
with a “value pledge”.
The move was revealed as Dame
Sharon White, the chairwoman of the
employee-owned group behind Wait-
rose, unveiled plans for an overhaul of
the business that will push it beyond
retail into housing and insurance.
The John Lewis Partnership has
more than 40 branches of John Lewis
and more than 330 of Waitrose. It has
used the “never knowingly undersold”
slogan since 1925 but critics have
argued it has become outdated as it
applies only to bricks and mortar rivals
and not online competitors.
Dame Sharon, who took charge of
the partnership in February, revealed in
March that the price-matching pledge
was under review. She is striving to re-
vive annual profits at the partnership,
which fell by almost a quarter to £
million during its last full financial year.

Drivers face ban on touching


their mobile phone at wheel


Graeme Paton Transport Correspondent bring it into line with the power of
modern technology. It will also cover
those who play games or scroll through
playlists. Drivers will be able to use
smartphones as a sat-nav but will be
banned from programming it while the
car is being driven.
The DfT said that exemptions would
be created to allow drivers to use
phones as a payment method at drive-
through cafés and restaurants, provid-
ed the vehicle is stationary and food is
delivered immediately.
Drivers can be fined £200 and receive
six penalty points for using a mobile
phone at the wheel.
A study last week from the RAC
found that 29 per cent of drivers in 2020
admitted to using a handheld phone to
make or receive calls while at the wheel,
a rise of five percentage points in 12
months and the highest annual total
since 2016. Some 18 per cent of drivers
aged 24 and under admitted to making
video calls at the wheel.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton, the roads
minister, said the reforms would
“strengthen the law to make using a
hand-held phone while driving illegal

in a wider range of circumstances”. She
said: “It’s distracting and dangerous and
for too long risky drivers have been able
to escape punishment, but this update
will mean those doing the wrong thing
will face the full force of the law.”
Edmund King, president of the AA,
said: “There is no excuse for picking up
a mobile phone when driving so we are
pleased this loophole will be closed.
Phones do so much more than calls and
texts, so it is only right that the law is
changed to keep pace with technology.
Tweets, TikTok and Instagram snaps
can all wait until you park up.”
Brake, the road safety charity, insist-
ed that the law did not go far enough.
Joshua Harris, the director of cam-
paigns, said: “When amending the law
on phone use when driving, the govern-
ment must also take the opportunity to
prohibit the use of hands-free devices.
“The law gives the impression that it
is safe to use a mobile phone with a
hands-free kit when the evidence is
clear that it is not. Banning hands-free
devices may be challenging but we urge
the government to prioritise the lives of
road users and take action now.”

Buyers need 40% deposits


as banks axe mortgages


Kate Palmer Senior Money Reporter ector of the mortgage broker Forensic
Property Finance, said. “Now those
with big deposits or similar levels of
equity are also being affected.”
The housing market has been boom-
ing since the lockdown was eased in
July, spurred on by the chancellor’s
stamp duty holiday, which lasts until
March. However, banks are increasing-
ly concerned about a fall in house
prices. They are also braced for the
Bank of England base rate to be cut
from its present record low of 0.1 per
cent.
The number of mortgages available
has fallen from 5,222 in March to 2,
today, according to the financial data
provider Moneyfacts.
Although the biggest cuts have been
to mortgages for borrowers with small
deposits, loans for those with less than
a 25 per cent deposit have also dropped,
from 850 in March to 540 now.
The average mortgage is worth about
68 per cent of a home mover’s property
value. First-time buyers typically want
to borrow 77 per cent of the property
they are hoping to buy, according to UK
Finance, the banking trade body.
TSB said its decision to end mortgage
deals was not permanent, but would
help it to manage demand.

Republican fear


over election


Senior Republicans


have warned of a


Democratic “blue


tsunami” on election


day after President


Trump failed to make


a breakthrough in a


TV showdown. Page 42


Boeing 737 Max


cleared to fly


The Boeing 737 Max,
which was grounded
last year after two
crashes, is on course to
return to Britain’s skies
in December after EU
aviation chiefs said that

it was safe. Page 47


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No charges for


triple killing


Britain told to


face no-deal


Talks on a future EU


trade deal are “over”


and negotiations next


week have been


cancelled after Boris


Johnson called on


Britain to prepare for a


no-deal Brexit. Page 4


Anger at plan


to sell library


The Royal College of
Physicians has been
accused of “selling off
the family silver” over
a proposal to auction
a bequest of rare
books valued at
£10 million. Page 15

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A builder who stabbed
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death is thought to be
the first person to face
no charges after a
triple killing in
self-defence, The Times
can reveal. Page 13

COMMENT 27
LEADING ARTICLES 31

REGISTER 78
CROSSWORD 83

TV & RADIO
SATURDAY REVIEW

Two managers


oppose TV fees


José Mourinho and
Brendan Rodgers have
voiced opposition to
the Premier League’s
decision to charge TV
viewers £14.95 to
watch individual

matches. Sport, pullout


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TODAY’S EDITION


TOP GADGET


A massage gun


is the hot kit to


have at home


BODY + SOUL, PAGE 4


SOLDIER’S PAY


How Captain Tom


set off a


banking revolution


PA G E 6 0


PRECIOUS TIME


Joan Bakewell


on coping


with lockdown


PA G E 6


MONEY WEEKEND SATURDAY REVIEW


Today’s


highlights


Listen for free DAB | Smart speaker | Online at times.radio | Times Radio app


9.35am The astronaut Tim Peake, right,
on his life in space

1.15pm The Conservative MP James Daly on why
he disagrees with Tier 3 restrictions

2.35pm The illusionist Derren Brown


4.30pm The former Brexit secretary


David Davis and the former justice secretary
David Gauke discuss the week’s news

Midnight Craig Parkinson, who played
DI Cottan in Line of Duty

Variable cloud, occasional showers


and the best of any sunshine in


the southwest. Full forecast, page 77

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