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Govt doesn’t rule out lockdown within days

Covid cases have surged to record levels as the fast-spreading omicron variant takes hold. Positive tests have exceeded 90,000 for each of the past two days, and ministers have said infections are doubling every two to three days, reports Asian Lite News

Health Secretary Sajid Javid declined to rule out stronger Covid-19 rules before Christmas after the nation’s top health advisers urged greater limits to contain infections they estimate are running in the hundreds of thousands per day.

“It’s time to be more cautious: we know this thing is spreading more rapidly,” Javid told BBC News on Sunday.

When asked whether he could guarantee a so-called circuit-breaker lockdown wouldn’t be imposed within days, he replied: “There are no guarantees in this pandemic. At this point, we just have to keep everything under review.”

Covid cases have surged to record levels as the fast-spreading omicron variant takes hold. Positive tests have exceeded 90,000 for each of the past two days, and ministers have said infections are doubling every two to three days.

Minutes released Saturday by the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or SAGE, suggested that without stronger rules, hospitalizations could reach a peak of at least 3,000 a day — far above current levels.

The projections put Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a bind, squeezed between scientific advisers calling for urgent action, and MPs who just last week rebelled in record numbers against far milder Covid rules than SAGE now says are warranted to keep the National Health Service afloat.

To make matters worse for the prime minister, on Saturday evening, his minister in charge of post-Brexit negotiations, Lord David Frost, quit his post, openly undermining Johnson over both his negotiations with the European Union and his response to the surging pandemic.

“We also need to learn to live with Covid,” Frost wrote in his resignation letter to Johnson. “I hope we can get back on track soon and not be tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.”

The letter showed the kind of pressures being exerted on Johnson by his own party to avoid tougher regulations. Last week, 100 Tory MPs voted against plans to introduce Covid passes as a requirement of entry to venues and large events. The measure was only approved because of support from the opposition Labour Party.

The “crisis of confidence” in Johnson’s leadership from the Tories “is impacting on the government’s public health response,” Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting told Sky, adding that Javid “looked like a hostage to his own party.”

Adding to the pressure on the country’s health system, the British Medical Association said almost 50,000 NHS staff could be off sick by Christmas if the government doesn’t act.

While stopping short of calling for a fresh lockdown, SAGE said bringing back some of the restrictions used earlier in the year could “substantially reduce” the peak in cases. UK papers have been filled with speculation that tighter rules may be introduced right after Christmas.

Johnson must now decide whether to risk the wrath of his rank-and-file MPs to bring in tougher measures. They’re already angry at missteps by the prime minister that started with his botched attempt to prevent Parliament’s suspension of his friend, Conservative MP Owen Paterson, over lobbying violations. That culminated in the party’s calamitous defeat in a special election on Thursday to replace Paterson — whose former seat of North Shropshire had been Tory for almost two centuries.

Javid told Sky that the government needs to balance scientific advice with the impact measures such as lockdowns have on society, businesses and children.

He said the UK is in a different situation now than earlier in the year because of its vaccination program, with over half of adults having received a booster.

“If there was a need to take any further action, we would recall parliament and it would have to be a decision for parliament,” he said.

Cabinet Office Minister Steve Barclay will hold talks on Sunday with regional governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss how to approach the surge in Covid cases, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Existential Threat

The SAGE document said omicron is spreading fastest in London, where Mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday declared a “major incident,” allowing the city to coordinate emergency services and access government support. Khan on Sunday told BBC News he thinks it’s “inevitable” new restrictions will be needed.

“Sooner rather than later we’re going to need to look at social distancing, we’re going to need to look at household mixing,” Khan said.

Khan said that even absent a formal lockdown, the current wave of the virus is an “existential” threat to businesses in the city center, including hospitality and theaters, as customers stay away in droves. He urged fresh government assistance.

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Omicron alarm sounded in London

The government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies said it was “almost certain” that hundreds of thousands of people were being infected with the variant every day and were not being picked up in the official figures, reports Asian Lite News

Britain reported a surge in cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant which government advisors said could be just the tip of the iceberg, and London’s mayor declared a “major incident” to help the city’s hospitals cope.

The number of Omicron cases recorded across the country hit almost 25,000 as of 1800 GMT on Friday, up by more than 10,000 cases from 24 hours earlier, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

Seven people believed to have had the Omicron variant had died as of Thursday, up from one death in the UKHSA’s previous data which ran up to Tuesday. Admissions to hospital of people thought to have the variant increased to 85 from 65.

The government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said it was “almost certain” that hundreds of thousands of people were being infected with the variant every day and were not being picked up in the figures.

SAGE said without a further tightening of Covid-19 rules, “modelling indicates a peak of at least 3,000 hospital admissions per day in England,” they said in minutes of a meeting on December 16.

Last January, before Britain’s vaccination campaign gathered speed, daily hospital admissions in the United Kingdom as a whole surged above 4,000.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced a rebellion in his governing Conservative Party over some of the measures he has taken so far to try to curb Covid-19’s latest spread. A newspaper said that Johnson’s Brexit minister, David Frost, had resigned in part because of the new rules.

The advisors said it was too early to assess the severity of disease caused by Omicron but if there was a modest reduction compared to the Delta variant, “very high numbers of infections would still lead to significant pressure on hospitals”.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a “major incident” – which allows for closer coordination between public agencies and possibly more central government support – as Covid-19 hospital admissions in the city rose by nearly 30% this week.

He said health worker absences had also increased.

“This is a statement of how serious things are,” he said.

Khan, from the opposition Labour Party, also declared a major incident in January, when rising Covid-19 cases threatened to overwhelm hospitals.

The Omicron variant is estimated to account for more than 80% of new Covid-19 cases in London, officials said on Friday.

Johnson was due to chair an emergency committee meeting over the weekend with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own powers over public health.

A report in The Times newspaper said officials were preparing draft rules which, if introduced, would ban indoor mixing in England — except for work — for two weeks after Christmas when pubs and restaurants would be limited to outdoor table service.

People would be able to meet in groups of up to six outdoors, the newspaper said, adding that ministers were yet to formally consider the plans.

Johnson said on Friday “we are not closing things down”.

A government spokesperson said the government would continue to “look closely at all the emerging data and we’ll keep our measures under review as we learn more about this variant”.

The number of all new Covid-19 cases reported in official data fell to 90,418 from a record high of more than 93,000 on Friday, but that was still the country’s second-highest daily toll. Figures typically dip at the weekend.

Cases were up 44.4% over the seven days to December 18 compared with the previous week.

Police clashed with a group of protesters opposed to the latest Covid-19 restrictions near Johnson’s Downing Street office and residence on Saturday. A number of officers were injured but so far no arrests had been made, police said.

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No 10 party inquiry head quits over own event

Simon Case’s role was put into doubt after reports a party was held in his office while London was under strict Covid-19 rules

UK’s top civil servant has stepped down from his role investigating a case into Downing Street lockdown parties while London was under strict Covid-19 restrictions, after it emerged an event was held in his own office, according to media reports.

Simon Case had been due to report on claims Covid rules were broken at events for staff last year, the BBC reported.

But his role was put into doubt after reports a party was held in his office while London was under Covid rules.

Case will be replaced by veteran civil servant Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the communities and levelling up department.

“To ensure the ongoing investigation retains public confidence the cabinet secretary [Simon Case] has recused himself for the remainder of the process,” the BBC quoted a spokesperson for No 10 as saying.

They said Gray would “ascertain the facts and present her findings to the prime minister”.

Simon Case’s role was put into doubt after reports a party was held in his office while London was under Covid rules. Picture by Andrew Parsons No 10 Downing Street

According to BBC, a quiz was held for members of Case’s private office on 17 December 2020, and invites were sent out titled “Christmas Party!”

About 15 people were invited to the gathering at 70 Whitehall, near Downing Street, although it is understood not everyone turned up.
Meanwhile, responding to the claims, a government spokesperson said the staff in the cabinet secretary’s private office took part in a virtual quiz on 17 December 2020, the BBC reported.

“A small number of them, who had been working in the office throughout the pandemic and on duty that day, took part from their desks, while the rest of the team were virtual,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

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“The cabinet secretary played no part in the event, but walked through the team’s office on the way to his own office. No outside guests or other staff were invited or present. This lasted for an hour and drinks and snacks were bought by those attending. He also spoke briefly to staff in the office before leaving,” the spokesperson added.

Few days ago, a government adviser had resigned following a backlash over a video that showed her joking about the alleged Christmas party at Downing Street last year during lockdown.

Allegra Stratton said she has offered her resignation less than 20 hours after the video emerged.

Simon Case with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Picture by Andy Parsons No 10 Downing Street

The video, obtained by ITV, showed Stratton, who was Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Press Secretary at that time, laughing about how to describe the alleged party during a rehearsal for a news conference.

In the footage from December last year, Stratton and other senior aides can be heard jokingly referring the party to a “business meeting” and a “cheese and wine” event.

In her statement, she said the British people had made immense sacrifices and apologised for comments that “seemed to make light of the rules”.

“I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and offer my profound apologies to all of you for them,” she said.

But she did not mention in the statement whether the party did actually happen.

Johnson also apologised for the video in Parliament during the same week, saying that he was “furious” about the clip and was launching an investigation into whether rules had been broken.

But opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister had taken the public for fools as Downing Street has refused during the past week to confirm what happened at the alleged party on December 18 last year.

Matt Fowler, co-founder of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, accused the Prime Minister of trying to “gaslight” bereaved families.

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UK, India natural partners, says PM

Addressing the Global Technology Summit via video link, Johnson said that over the coming decade, India and the UK will continue to deepen their bonds on technology and other areas as they have set out in the 2030 India-UK roadmap, reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said that the UK and India are natural partners who are working together on many fantastic projects from partnership on 5G and telecom to startups.

Addressing the Global Technology Summit via video link, Johnson said that over the coming decade, India and the UK will continue to deepen their bonds on technology and other areas as they have set out in the 2030 India-UK roadmap.

With our shared culture of innovation and our entrepreneurial spirit, the UK and India are natural partners. We’re working together on many fantastic projects, from the UK-India partnership on 5G and telecom to the UK startups who are working with India giants, the prime minister said.

Working side-by-side, we will not only make breakthroughs that will transform people’s lives, but we’ll help shape a new technology based on the principles of freedom, openness and peace, Johnson added.

The 2030 Roadmap for stronger UK-India strategic ties was signed by Johnson and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a virtual summit in May this year.

With our shared culture of innovation and our entrepreneurial spirit, the UK and India are natural partners. We’re working together on many fantastic projects, from the UK-India partnership on 5G and telecom to the UK startups who are working with India giants, the prime minister said.

Working side-by-side, we will not only make breakthroughs that will transform people’s lives, but we’ll help shape a new technology based on the principles of freedom, openness and peace, Johnson said in his special address to the 6th annual Global Technology Summit.

The summit was co-hosted by the non-governmental organisation Carnegie India along with the Ministry of External Affairs on the theme of Global Meets Local.

“We know that a huge advantage awaits us with Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing and with technology poised to help us find answers to some of humanity’s biggest challenges. That’s why I was so pleased earlier this year when my friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I agreed that our two countries should work closer than ever before on technology and the roles that will help us shape the coming age,” the British prime minister said.

Addressing the summit via video link, UK foreign secretary Liz Truss said that hostile forces use technology to gain the upper hand.

That’s why freedom-loving democracies need to step-up to shape global technologies and champion our interest, she said.

Truss also said that India and the UK are natural partners.

“Every time I visit India or meet Indian businesses, I am reminded of what natural partners we are. We’re open to the world as outward looking nations, which is why the UK is India’s 2nd largest investment destination, she said.

Across Britain, Indian giants from Infosys to Tata are growing their businesses. Meanwhile British brands are selling India high-quality goods and services like fintech, clean technologies, she said.

Such openness to business and opportunity is why we are able to tackle the greatest challenges of our time. For example, we saw the peak of the pandemic teamed up with our NHS to create a tele-medicine trial system. It was a bold step, we saved hundreds of lives, Truss said.

Our openness to enterprises and tech businesses are flourishing that are based in our nations, she said.

The UK is home to the third largest tech unicorns in the world while India has the third largest number of tech firms, according to Truss.

By harnessing the full potential of free enterprise and technology, we drive forward economic recovery and human progress, she added.

Johnson’s remarks at the summit came over a month after he met Prime Minister Modi in Glasgow on the sidelines of the COP26 climate summit and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas like green hydrogen, renewables and clean technology, economy and defence.

That was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Johnson following the British Prime Minister’s twice cancelled visit to India earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two prime ministers had reviewed the implementation of the Roadmap 2030 priorities particularly in the trade and economy, people-to-people, health, defence and security areas.

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UK orders Europe’s “fastest trains” for over $2 Bn

The fully electric trains will run on the first section of the new HS2 railway being built between London and the English Midlands…reports Asian Lite News.

Britain’s new high-speed rail line HS2 will get “Europe’s fastest trains” that will be built in the country by a Franco-Japanese joint venture, according to a joint statement Thursday.

France’s Alstom and Japan’s Hitachi Rail will build 54 trains in a deal worth almost 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion, 2.3 billion euros) for government-funded firm HS2, the pair said in a statement.

The manufacturers “will deliver Europe’s fastest operational train”, capable of running at maximum speeds of 225 miles per hour (360 kilometres per hour), they added.

The fully electric trains will run on the first section of the new HS2 railway being built between London and the English Midlands.

They will operate also on existing railways serving UK northern cities Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.

“Today’s announcement places Britain firmly at the forefront of the high-speed rail revolution with these state-of-the-art trains serving communities right across the country from London to Glasgow,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in the statement.

The trains will be built at existing Alstom and Hitachi factories in England, while the contract is set to support 2,500 jobs across the UK.

“This British-built bullet train will be the fastest in Europe, and I am proud of the role that Hitachi will play in helping to improve mobility in the UK through this project,” said Hitachi Rail chief executive Andrew Barr.

Thursday’s news comes one month after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson scaled back his HS2 plans for northern England amid soaring costs.

HS2, forecast to cost more than 100 billion pounds of mostly British taxpayers’ money, is to be built in stages.

The initial leg — connecting London to Britain’s second-biggest city Birmingham in the English Midlands — is due to open by around 2029-2033.

The second phase, extending the line north to Manchester but no longer to Leeds, was not due to be completed before 2035-2040.

“HS2 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Britain by building a sustainable transport system fit for the 21st Century,” added Nick Crossfield, Alstom managing director, UK & Ireland.

HS2 is Britain’s second high-speed rail project after HS1, which links London with the Channel Tunnel that then connects the UK to France.

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UK announces ‘largest ever increase’ in funding for drug treatment

A world-leading treatment system will be developed for those dependent on drugs and support them to kick their addictions, prioritising areas with the greatest need…reports Asian Lite News.

Communities all across England will receive the largest ever funding boost for drug treatment services to help people and reduce crime on our streets, under a new strategy published on Monday.

The money will go towards improving access to treatment and increasing the capacity of services, helping to reverse the upward trend in drug use and level up by tackling this major driver of crime, which we know disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable and poorest communities.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a police briefing before going on a police drugs raid by Merseyside police in Liverpool. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street

The government’s new strategy to tackle drugs, sets out a bold, long-term vision for the next decade. It is designed to cut crime and reduce both the supply and demand for drugs by getting more people into treatment, breaking the cycle of crime driven by addiction and keeping drug-related violence out of neighbourhoods across the country.

The strategy is backed by a new investment of almost £780 million for treatment – the largest ever increase – bringing total spending on drug enforcement and treatment to more than £3 billion over the next three years.

A world-leading treatment system will be developed for those dependent on drugs and support them to kick their addictions, prioritising areas with the greatest need.

Over the next three years, all local authorities will receive new money for treatment and recovery with the 50 local authorities in greatest need receiving this first to ensure that better access to treatment is fast tracked for the poorest and most vulnerable.

Illegal drugs carry a cost to the taxpayer of nearly £20 billion every year and almost half of all burglaries and robberies are committed by the 300,000 heroin and cocaine addicts in England with whole communities forced to endure the misery these cause.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, said, “This is a huge moment which will not only save lives but help level up the country. We’re investing a record amount into treatment services with money to break the cycle of drug use and to support communities by cutting the drug use which drives crime. Treatment services are just one part of the comprehensive strategy which includes helping people back to work, into permanent housing, and cracking down on supply.”

To cut crime and reduce drug related deaths and harms over the next three years, the government plans to increase and improve treatment services to reduce harm and improve recovery rates significantly. This will mean more people receiving better quality treatment, including developing and expanding the treatment workforce, helping to prevent crime.

Improve offender drug treatment across the Prisons and Probation Service in England and Wales to get more offenders engaged in treatment, including mandatory and voluntary testing regimes in prison, support for prisoners to engage with community treatment ahead of their release and increasing the use of intensive Drug Rehabilitation Requirements for those on community sentences. This will help cut crime as those receiving treatment for their addiction are known to be half as likely to reoffend.

Increased housing support and access to treatment for those at risk of sleeping rough.

Roll out individual employment support across all Local Authorities in England by 2025 based on effective existing models to help people in recovery to get a job by supporting them to be ready for work and helping them to find a job that is right for them.

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CBI cuts growth forecasts

With exports still weak, household spending would drive 90% of growth next year and two-thirds of it in 2023 thanks to a strong jobs market and savings racked up during the pandemic…reports Asian Lite News.

Britain’s economy looks set to grow more slowly than previously thought this year and in 2023 due to global supply chain problems and the government must encourage longer-term business investment, an employers group said on Monday.

The Confederation of British Industry cut its forecasts for economic growth to 6.9% in 2021 and 5.1% in 2022 from previous estimates of 8.2% and 6.1%.

It said the downgrade mostly reflected weaker growth since its last forecasts in June and the supply chain problems that have slowed the recovery from last year’s coronavirus slump were likely to end in mid-2022.

With exports still weak, household spending would drive 90% of growth next year and two-thirds of it in 2023 thanks to a strong jobs market and savings racked up during the pandemic.

Business investment looked set to grow by 8.2% next year and go above its pre-pandemic level but the bounce would probably prove short-lived with corporate investment falling back in mid-2023 when a tax incentive is due to expire.

“One policy in place for 18 months can’t change under-investment over four decades,” Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief economist, said.

The CBI called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to introduce regulations to spur investment and innovation to help build new markets in clean energy and other sectors.

The new forecasts from the group saw inflation peaking at 5.2% in April and remaining above the Bank of England’s 2% target for around another year while unemployment would fall to 3.8% by the end of 2023.

The CBI’s forecasts were made before the emergence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus which has led to tighter Covid rules. Rain-Smith said she was hopeful that Britain’s high levels of vaccinations would minimise the growth hit.

Trade minister to seek closer ties on US trip

Britain will seek to strengthen its trading relationship with the United States this week when trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan visits New York and Washington, but a full free-trade agreement remains a distant prospect.

Trevelyan will meet US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington on Tuesday, and promote Britain at a meeting with investors in New York, reported Reuters.

Despite a trade deal with the United States being touted as one of the biggest prizes of Britain’s exit from the European Union in the years following the 2016 Brexit vote, US President Joe Biden has since made clear that any such deal is not a priority for his administration. 

That has forced Britain to take a different approach of pursuing smaller agreements to remove specific trade barriers, solve long-running trade disputes, and work together on world trade reform.

Anne Marie Trevelyan MP

Trevelyan’s visit, her first since becoming trade minister in September, will pursue that strategy, including a push to resolve a long-running dispute over steel and aluminium tariffs.

Former US President Donald Trump imposed 25% and 10% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU in 2018. The tariffs were withdrawn in October of this year, but they remain in place for Britain due to its exit from the EU.

Officials in the United States and Britain last week rejected a report in the Financial Times that said talks on resolving the tariff row were stalled due to concerns about post-Brexit trade rules affecting Northern Ireland. 

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UK orders 114 Mn Covid jabs amid Omicron scare

The orders — 60 million extra doses of the Moderna vaccine and 54 million more Pfizer-BioNTech shots — come as Britain expands its booster programme following the emergence of the Omicron variant, reports Asian Lite News

The government said late Wednesday it has ordered 114 million additional Covid-19 vaccine doses, from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, to bolster its jabs drive over the next two years.

The orders — 60 million extra doses of the Moderna vaccine and 54 million more Pfizer-BioNTech shots — come as Britain expands its booster programme following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

The country has set a two-month target to give third doses to all adults aged over 18, after broadening eligibility and halving to three months the time needed since getting a previous jab.

“These new deals will future proof the Great British vaccination effort — which has so far delivered more than 115 million first, second and booster jabs across the UK,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.

“This is a national mission and our best weapon to deal with this virus and its variants is to get jabs in arms.”

Announcing the new orders, the Department of Health said Britain remained committed to donating 100 million doses “to countries in need” by mid-2022.

It noted the UK will have donated more than 30 million by the end of the year, and has announced plans for donations totalling 70 million doses so far.

However, Western countries including Britain have faced strong criticism for the failure to get more vaccines to poorer countries, with experts warning it heightens the risk of dangerous Covid variants emerging.

Pharma summit

Britain has been one of the worst impacted by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, with some 145,000 deaths since last year.

Daily infection rates remain high although more than 80 percent of people aged 12 and over have been double jabbed, and nearly a third have so far had a booster.

It has now recorded 32 cases of the Omicron variant, after nine new cases were detected in England and another case was found in Scotland, officials said earlier Wednesday.

The 22 English cases span from London and the southeast to the East Midlands, eastern England and the northwest, while Scotland has registered 10.

In the bid to deliver 3.5 million jabs a week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that vaccination centres would be “popping up like Christmas trees”.

At least 400 military personnel would be drafted in to help the state-run National Health Service deliver the shots, he added.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Johnson will host the world’s largest pharma firms, including AstraZeneca, GSK and Pfizer, to discuss working together “to tackle emerging variants and future pandemics,” his office said.

The virtual summit — dubbed the “Biopharmaceutical CEO Roundtable” — will explore how lessons learned from the Covid-19 response can be applied to solve other healthcare challenges of our generation, it added.

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Govt to offer booster vaccines by end of January

Britain registered 39,716 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,228,772, according to official figures released Tuesday…reports Asian Lite News.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that everyone above 18 years of age will be offered a booster vaccine by the end of January and another lockdown is “extremely unlikely”.

Speaking at a Downing Street news briefing on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the rollout of booster programme will go in age order, and that there will be more than 1,500 community pharmacy sites in England offering the jabs.

“Temporary vaccine centers will be popping up like Christmas trees”, adding that some 400 military personnel and the “jabs army of volunteers” will also help with the rollout, Johnson said.

A further eight cases of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant have been identified in England, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529 in Britain to 22, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The UKHSA said it is acting to get scientific information available as quickly as possible in order to inform the right balance of interventions to prevent transmission of the new variant and protect lives.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the news conference that authorities are looking to establish any link to South Africa in the new England cases, but added we have to be “realistic” and there is “likely to be community transmission” of the new variant.

Britain registered 39,716 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,228,772, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The country also reported a further 159 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 144,969. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

More than 88 per cent of people aged 12 and above in Britain have received their first dose of vaccine and more than 80 per cent have received both the doses, according to the latest figures.

More than 31 per cent have received booster jabs, or the third dose of anti-coronavirus vaccine.

To restore normalcy, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the US have been racing against time to roll out Covid vaccines.

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Britain, India set to begin FTA talks

A source close to the process said both Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi are strenuously behind the move, which could mean flexibility where otherwise if left to bureaucrats, there would be rigidity, reports Ashis Ray

India and Britain are provisionally scheduled to embark on ambitious negotiations later this month, with the objective of arriving at a services-driven Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries by early 2024.

UK India Business Council (Twitter)

A source close to the process stated that there is “a meeting of political minds”; in other words, both Boris Johnson and Narendra Modi are strenuously behind the move. This could mean flexibility where otherwise if left to bureaucrats, there would be rigidity.

An upbeat UK India Business Council (UKIBC) posted on its website: “We believe it is both the right ambition and is eminently achievable.”

The UKIBC, however, added: “An open dialogue between businesses and government will be critical for successful FTA negotiations.”

18 pre-FTA talks roundtable

It has already held 18 pre-FTA consultation roundtables with businesses as part of the consultation and gathering intelligence. These took place in partnership with the British government’s Department of International Trade (DIT).

The DIT said: “Preparations for the launch of negotiations for the UK-India FTA remain underway, and DIT continues to engage counterparts in the government of India.”

It confirmed that bilateral working groups had met face-to-face in Delhi in October.

The new British Secretary of State for International Trade, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, met Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal for the first time at the G20 trade ministers’ meeting in Sorrento, Italy, in October. The DIT indicated that at this dialogue, they discussed “final preparations for the launch of UK-India FTA negotiations”.

Goyal and Liz Truss, who was Trevelyan’s predecessor and is now the Foreign Secretary, had reportedly got along very well. The Cabinet reshuffle, an observer felt, was unlikely to make a difference and described Trevelyan as “determined and enthusiastic” about getting an FTA done.

Long road ahead

FTA negotiations are generally long and tortuous. India and the European Union, for example, have been grappling with the issue for 14 years without a positive outcome. However, the source close to the upcoming Indo-British talks disclosed the intent on both sides is to announce a deal by early 2024, as both countries are due to hold general elections in the spring of that year. It is feared that a multi-government involvement on either side could scuttle negotiations.

The DIT on the one hand and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Indian government on the other are expected to issue their respective mandates, which will form the basis of negotiations for the two sides. The mandates will set out priorities and red lines.

The negotiations will in the foreseeable future be held virtually. Information trickling out from insiders suggest that it will be a service rather than goods driven approach by both parties.

“Data, Fintech and Information Technology” are the buzzwords doing the rounds.

There is discussion as to whether the FTA should be phased in or proclaimed all in one go. Goyal is said to be keen on “a limited early harvest agreement by March 2022”.

At a virtual summit on May 4 last, Johnson and Modi had unveiled what they called a “transformational” Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with the signing of a UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership. This committed the two nations to double trade — which in the last financial year was at around 20 billion pounds — by 2030. Covid-19 has obviously come in the way of progress on this front.

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