Bank of England hikes rate again as UK enters recession

LONDON - The Bank of England hiked its interest rate again on Thursday to combat soaring inflation as it warned that the UK's economy had already slipped into recession.

The BoE's decision caps a busy week for central banks as its peers in the United States and elsewhere in Europe further tightened their own monetary policies in global efforts to tame runaway inflation.

The British central bank's decision had been postponed from last week following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The BoE met most market expectations as it lifted its key rate by 0.5 percentage points to 2.25 percent, repeating its August increase that had been the biggest rise since 1995.

Some commentators had speculated that the BoE could mirror the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve and spring a jumbo hike of 0.75 percentage points -- which would have been the BoE's largest in three decades.

Across the world, consumer prices have galloped to their highest levels in decades on rampant energy and food prices in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Central banks have responded by increasing their rates, fanning recession fears because they push up loan repayments for consumers and companies alike, thereby exacerbating the UK's cost-of-living crisis.

The BoE said the UK had already entered recession.

The Fed on Wednesday unveiled a 0.75-percentage-point increase, its third straight jumbo hike, one day after Sweden's Riksbank shocked markets with a jump of a full percentage point.

On Thursday, the Swiss National Bank unleashed a 0.75-percentage-point hike that lifted its policy rate out of negative territory for the first time since 2015, meaning depositors no longer have to pay to park their money at the bank.

On Thursday, the Norwegian central bank raised its rate by 0.5 percentage points, taking it to its highest level in more than a decade.

Bucking the trend, the Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose monetary policy unchanged, sending the yen to a fresh 24-year low against the dollar.

The BoE earlier this month defended itself against accusations of being too slow to tackle sky-high inflation, after new Prime Minister Liz Truss proposed to review its operational independence.

- Tax cuts -

UK inflation eased to 9.9 percent in August but remains near a 40-year high.

Truss on Wednesday launched a six-month plan, starting in October, to pay about half of energy bills for businesses, charities, hospitals and schools, as she sought to soften the economic blow of sky-high prices.

The premier had already announced plans for a two-year energy price freeze for cash-strapped households.

Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng will unveil Friday a mini-budget of tax cuts designed to boost economic activity, and will also outline the vast cost of the energy assistance.

Yet the package threatens to ultimately push inflation higher as a result of strengthening demand, according to US bank Citi.

"While the capping of energy prices is disinflationary in the first instance, we continue to see many of these measures as boosting demand and increasing the risk of more embedded inflation," wrote Citi analysts in a research note.

Commentators also warn the measures will ravage public finances that are already reeling from huge spending during the deadly Covid pandemic.

Barclays bank analysts estimate that the government's total cost-of-living expenditure could reach a colossal £235 billion ($267 billion).

Agence France-Presse

UK inflation jumps to new 40-year high

LONDON - British inflation surged to a new 40-year high in July on rising food prices, official data showed Wednesday, adding to a cost-of-living crisis as the country faces the prospect of recession.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) accelerated to 10.1 percent last month from 9.4 percent in June, the Office of National Statistics said.

The Bank of England warned earlier this month that inflation will climb to just over 13 percent this year, the highest level since 1980.

It also projected that the country would enter a recession that would last until late 2023.

The central bank raised its key rate by 0.50 percentage points to 1.75 percent at its last policy meeting, the biggest hike since 1995.

The BoE move mirrors aggressive monetary policy from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank last month, as the world races to cool red-hot inflation that has been fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The UK's statistics office said the "largest movements" in the CPI in July came from food.

Bread and cereals were the largest contributors to the rise in food prices, followed by milk, cheese and eggs.

Agence France-Presse

UK PM Johnson marries in low-key, surprise ceremony

LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson married his fiancee Carrie Symonds at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, capping a week of political drama with a wedding kept so under wraps that his office did not confirm it until the following day.

The event was not announced in advance and media reports on Saturday evening said guests were invited at the last minute to the Roman Catholic cathedral in central London, adding that even senior members of Johnson's office were unaware of the wedding plans.

"The Prime Minister and Ms Symonds were married yesterday afternoon in a small ceremony at Westminster Cathedral," Johnson's office said on Sunday. "The couple will celebrate their wedding with family and friends next summer."

Johnson, 56, and Symonds, 33, have been living together in Downing Street since Johnson became prime minister in 2019. They announced last year that they were engaged and their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born in April 2020.

The Conservative prime minister faced a barrage of criticism over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic after former chief adviser Dominic Cummings told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that his failings had caused thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Johnson brushed aside the allegations, saying on Thursday that "some of the commentary" bore no relation to reality. He said the government had done its best to follow the data and guidance it had to contain the pandemic.

SMILES AND FLOWERS

A wedding photo issued by the prime minister's office showed the couple smiling in the garden of 10 Downing Street after the ceremony.

Symonds wore a long white gown and a garland of white flowers in her hair while Johnson wore a dark suit, blue tie and a floral buttonhole.

The ceremony had to be low-key: weddings in England are currently limited to 30 people due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Media reports said that the cathedral was suddenly locked down at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Symonds arrived 30 minutes later in a limo.

Earlier this month the Sun had reported that wedding invitations had been sent to friends and family for July 2022.

Johnson, once dubbed "Bonking Boris" by Britain's tabloid media, has a complicated private life.

He was once fired from the Conservative Party's policy team while in opposition for lying about an extra-marital affair. He has been divorced twice and refuses to say how many children he has fathered.

Johnson's last marriage was to Marina Wheeler, a lawyer. They had four children together but announced in September 2018 that they had separated. 

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Paul Sandle Editing by Mark Potter, Alison Williams and Frances Kerry)

-reuters-

English survey finds high antibody levels from Pfizer vaccine rollout

LONDON - People in England who have received 2 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are generating strong antibody responses as the shot is rolled out, researchers said Thursday, adding that confidence in vaccines was high.

An Imperial College London survey showed 87.9 percent of people over the age of 80 tested positive for antibodies after 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, rising to 95.5 percent for those under the age of 60 and 100 percent in those aged under 30.

"Although there is some fall-off in positivity with age, at all ages, we get that very good response to 2 doses of the vaccine," Paul Elliott, Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Imperial College London, told reporters.

Antibody levels are only one part of the immunity picture, with vaccines also shown to generate strong T-cell protection.

Nearly 95 percent of under-30s tested positive for antibodies 21 days after 1 dose, but this fell in older groups.

The research found 34.7 percent of those 80 years or older generated antibody responses from 1 dose of the Pfizer vaccine, but Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) has previously found high protection from the Pfizer vaccine after 1 dose, even when antibody levels are lower.

Britain has extended the gap between doses to 12 weeks, even though Pfizer has cautioned it only has data for clinical efficacy with a 3-week gap between shots.

Over 154,000 participants took part in Imperial's home surveillance study for COVID-19 antibodies, which monitors antibody levels from natural infection as well as among the vaccinated, between Jan. 26 and Feb. 8.

The survey also looked at confidence in vaccines, and showed it was high, with 92 percent having accepted or were planning to accept a vaccine offer, though confidence was lower among Black people, dropping to 72.5 percent.

-reuters-

UK retailers report biggest annual price falls since May

LONDON - British retailers reported the biggest annual fall in prices since May this month, adding to signs of pressure on the sector since non-essential stores had to close to the public from Jan. 5 as part of renewed COVID lockdown measures.

The British Retail Consortium, a trade body, said on Wednesday that its members saw average prices fall by 2.2 percent in January compared with a year earlier, the largest such fall since the depths of Britain’s first lockdown in May.

Food prices rose by 0.2 percent, the smallest increase since January 2017, and non-food prices dropped by 3.6 percent.

“Post-Christmas sales and the national lockdown drove non-food prices down – especially for clothing and DIY goods,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

Britain’s official measure of consumer price inflation, which covers a wider range of goods and services, showed annual prices rises of 0.6 percent in December.

Dickinson said that as well as facing softer consumer demand, retailers were under pressure from higher costs which they may prove unable to absorb.

“Brexit-related red tape, rising global shipping costs and food commodity prices, as well as the weight of forced closures and restrictions for many retail businesses, means that pricing pressures are stacking up,” she said.

New lockdown measures to combat a surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths have added to a normal post-Christmas belt-tightening by British consumers.

Experimental data last week from the Office for National Statistics, which is not seasonally adjusted, showed a 35 percent fall in consumer spending in early January, and on Tuesday the Confederation of British Industry reported its weakest retail number since May.

-reuters-

Apple temporarily shuts California stores in virus surge, some in UK after new curbs

Apple Inc has temporarily shut all of its 53 stores in California because of a coronavirus outbreak and 16 stores in the United Kingdom following restrictions introduced by the government in London, a spokesman said on Saturday.

The company said on Friday it was temporarily shutting some stores in California following a surge in COVID-19 cases, sending the iPhone maker's shares down in trading after the bell. That announcement covered at least 12 stores.

"Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible," the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Customers would still be able to pick up existing orders for the next few days, the spokesman said. The statement did not mention when Apple expects the stores to reopen.

Coronavirus cases are increasing in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the U.S. having had over 17.4 million infections and about 314,000 deaths.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday imposed an effective lockdown on over 16 million people in England and reversed plans to ease curbs over Christmas. The UK's other nations, whose response to the pandemic differs from that of England at times, also took action.

Johnson said London and southeast England would now be placed in a new Tier 4 level of lockdown and people in those areas will be required to stay at home except for essential reasons such as work. Non-essential retail will close, as will indoor leisure and entertainment. 

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Grant McCool)

-reuters-

UK economy loses £22 billion as virus ravages tourism: study

LONDON - Britain's economy will lose about £22 billion ($29 billion, 24 billion euros) this year on the coronavirus-induced collapse of global travel, which could imperil three million jobs, an industry body forecast Wednesday.

International visitor spending could plunge by 78 percent from 2019, equating to a loss of £60 million per day or £420 million a week, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) predicted in a key report.

"Travellers and tourists are staying away from the UK in droves because of continuing uncertainty around travel restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19," the WTTC stated.

It continued: "The severe impact on UK travel and tourism is laid bare by WTTC as the economic fallout from coronavirus continues to burn its way through the sector. 

"Nearly three million jobs in the UK supported by travel and tourism are at risk of being lost in a 'worst case' scenario mapped out by WTTC economic modeling."

The nation's economy shrank by one fifth in the second quarter, more than any European neighbour, as the lockdown plunged the country into its deepest recession on record.

Tourists remain reluctant to visit because Britain is the European country worst hit by the coronavirus. 

YEARS TO RECOVER

Travel has also been discouraged after the UK government recently re-imposed quarantine on those returning from nations including Austria, Croatia, France, the Netherlands and Spain.

The WTTC added Wednesday that London has been hardest hit by the travel collapse because around 85 percent of tourist spending in the capital is from foreign visitors.

"The economic pain and suffering caused to millions of households across the UK, who are dependent upon Travel & Tourism for their livelihoods, is evident from the latest figures," added WTTC President Gloria Guevara in the report.

"The lack of international travel caused by the pandemic could wipe out more than £22 billion from the UK economy alone... from which it could take years to recover. 

"It could also threaten London's position as one of the world's premier hubs for business and leisure travel which could see other destinations take over.

"We urgently need to replace stop-start quarantine measures with rapid, comprehensive and cost-effective test and trace programs at departure points across the country."

British tourism's lobbying body VisitBritain had forecast Tuesday that the number of foreign tourists will plummet by 73 percent in 2020 to 11 million people on the back of the pandemic, which has grounded aircraft worldwide.

Agence France-Presse

UK state debt tops $2 trillion on virus support

LONDON - British government debt has exceeded £2 trillion for the first time following massive state borrowing as the coronavirus pandemic pushed the UK economy into a record recession, official data showed Friday.

At the end of July, total accumulated debt hit £2.004 trillion ($2.61 trillion, 2.2 trillion euros), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

That was equivalent to more than 100 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product, or total economic output, for the first time since 1961.

By comparison, Apple this week became the first US company to have a market valuation totaling $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion), boosted as it is seen as a key winner in the new post-coronavirus economy.

Compared with July 2019, UK debt increased by £227.6 billion, reflecting the huge increase in borrowing needed to tackle the pandemic.

'SIGNIFICANT STRAIN'

"This crisis has put the public finances under significant strain as we have seen a hit to our economy and taken action to support millions of jobs, businesses and livelihoods," finance minister Rishi Sunak said.

"Without that support things would have been far worse."

Net borrowing between April and the end of July is estimated to have hit £150.5 billion, the ONS said.

Last month's figure alone came in at £26.7 billion, as the UK emerged from a strict lockdown imposed at the end of March to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"Today's figures are a stark reminder that we must return our public finances to a sustainable footing over time, which will require taking difficult decisions," said Sunak, whose official title is Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"It is also why we are taking action now to support the growth and jobs which pay for our public service, by helping businesses to reopen safely."

POUND PUMMEL

The pound fell by more than 1.0 percent against the dollar on Friday as the EU and Britain traded blame for the lack of progress after the latest round of post-Brexit trade talks, with Brussels warning that a deal looked unlikely.

Sterling was changing hands at $1.3074 in afternoon trade, compared with $1.3214 late Thursday.

The pound is being punished "by Brexit talks which seem to be going nowhere," said Neil Wilson, analyst at Markets.com.

"The two sides are still far from reaching agreement on key terms" of their post-Brexit relationship.

RETAIL RECOVERY

Separately, data showed that British retail sales jumped by 3.6 percent in July from June as shops, restaurants and pubs reopened.

"Retail sales have now regained all the ground lost during the height of the coronavirus restrictions as more stores open for trade and online sales remain at historically high levels," ONS statistician Jonathan Athow said.

"While still below their pre-pandemic levels, both fuel and clothing sales continued to recover.

"Meanwhile, food sales fell back from their recent peaks as people started to venture back into pubs and restaurants," Athow said.

Marks and Spencer, the British food and clothes retailer, announced this week that it was cutting 7,000 jobs as COVID-19 increasingly pushes customers to shop online.

The company joins the likes of UK department store chains Debenhams and John Lewis, as well as pharmacy group Boots, in cutting thousands of jobs owing to pandemic fallout.

Britain's economy shrank by one fifth in the second quarter, more than any European neighbor, as the lockdown plunged the country into its deepest recession on record.

Even though the UK economy is beginning to rebound as the government eases strict confinement measures -- private sector output grew rapidly in August according to data Friday -- analysts expect a surge in unemployment by the end of the year.

In October, Sunak plans to end the government's furlough scheme that is paying up to 80 percent of wages for around 10 million workers during the pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

The year the music might die: British clubs face closure

LONDON (AP) — When Keiron Marshall was 15, he found his way out of a desperate situation with help from an unexpected source: Eric Clapton. The guitar great was host at the first gig Marshall ever went to, and he was joined on stage by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, The Who’s Pete Townshend and Beatle Ringo Starr.

Since then, London’s music scene has been a liferaft for Marshall, a musician who now runs a group of small concert venues with his wife. Growing up in south London, he’d endured racial slurs and regular beatings because of his Pakistani heritage. His uncle was killed in a racially motivated attack; his mother was a heroin addict.

“Music for us is a really personal thing,” said Hannah White, Marshall’s wife. “It’s been totally life-changing.”

But the music scene they know and love may soon be unrecognizable because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has plunged the U.K. economy into its worst recession on record.

Live music venues have been forced to shut doors for nearly five months — and scores are at imminent risk of permanent closure. According to the charity Music Venue Trust, which represents 670 grassroots venues, more than 400 across the country are in crisis.

One of those is Marshall and White’s south London venue group, The Sound Lounge.

The British government announced that indoor and socially-distanced live music could resume on Saturday. But this doesn’t mean that the country’s vibrant live music scene will be immediately restored.

“The truth is that actually only 11% of venues will be able to open in a financially viable manner,” said Mark Davyd, founder and CEO of the Music Venue Trust.

Less than a third of venues have the physical space to house safe, socially-distanced gigs. And the majority of those would lose too much money on these reduced-capacity shows for it to be economically feasible.

Clubs have already amassed millions of pounds in debts since March, with more expected in the coming months.

“In total, these venues are going to be over 60 million pounds ($78.3 million) in debt” by the end of September, Davyd said.

The government announced in late July that 2.25 million pounds ($266 million) would be funneled to 150 grassroots venues that would otherwise have been out of cash by the end of September. The fund was the first slice of a 1.57 billion-pound ($1.86 billion) “culture recovery package” that was rolled out on Jul. 5.

Davyd welcomed the emergency fund, but cautioned that this was just a “short term fix,” one that was only aimed at helping “venues identified as being in crisis.”

In total, 500 million pounds of the recovery package has been allocated to cultural institutions that can “demonstrate their international, national or local significance.” Grant applications for this scheme opened Monday and venues have until August 21 to submit. For a lot of grassroots clubs that have never applied for grants before, the 11-day window is going to be another challenge.

Derek Nash, a veteran saxophonist and member of Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, worries about who the recipients of the bailout will ultimately be.

“Let’s not give it all to opera,” Nash said, adding that he wants the funds to go to venues like the 606 jazz club, a small but popular venue running shows seven nights a week.

At the moment, 606 Club is surviving off a government loan it qualified for through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. But that has put the club heavily in debt.

“The smaller venues that you come up through where you kind of learn your trade – those are incredibly important,” said club owner Steve Rubie. “If those venues aren’t there, those musicians aren’t getting a chance to practice and learn their trade. So it’s a really serious issue.”

Meanwhile, the Sound Lounge has stayed afloat with help from friends and crowdfunding. The owners applied for the government’s emergency scheme last week.

“If we can survive it, I think culture, and especially music, is going to have a massive role to play in our recovery,” White said.

“People need experiences,” she added. “That’s what we all felt in lockdown. It’s not really the stuff or the shopping we missed, it’s human contact. So there’s a massive potential, but we need to be able to survive.”

Associated Press

Bank of England sees less severe UK downturn

LONDON - Britain's economic downturn fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic will be less severe than thought -- but the nation's surge in unemployment will delay any recovery, according to a forecast by the Bank of England.

The pound rallied on the update, which included news that the BoE held its main interest rate at a record-low 0.1 percent.

The BoE added that its cash stimulus programme used to prop up the economy before and during the coronavirus pandemic would remain at £745 billion ($967 billion, 813 billion euros).

The amount includes £300 billion added to its so-called quantitative easing programme since March when COVID-19 prompted a UK lockdown.

The economy was now expected to contract by 9.5 percent this year, the BoE said, altering its prior guidance of a 14-percent contraction.

"Nonetheless, the recovery in demand takes time as health concerns drag on activity," the BoE said in minutes of its latest regular meeting that took place Tuesday.

"GDP is not projected to exceed its level in 2019 Q4 until the end of 2021, in part reflecting persistently weaker supply capacity," it added.

The BoE estimated that UK gross domestic product would rebound in 2021 by nine percent, but down on an earlier forecast for output growth of 15 percent.

- Negative rates -

The Bank added that it "does not intend to tighten monetary policy until there is clear evidence that significant progress is being made in eliminating spare capacity and achieving the (bank's) two percent inflation target sustainably".

BoE governor Andrew Bailey told a virtual press conference that negative interest rates were in the bank's "toolbox", but said there were no immediate plans to use the controversial measure.

"The Bank thoroughly bashed the idea of negative interest rates, at least in the next six months or so," noted Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics research group. 

"It suggested that while negative rates can work in some circumstances, it would be 'less effective as a tool to stimulate the economy' at this time when banks are worried about future loan losses."

- 'Unemployment at 7.5%' -

The BoE on Thursday also forecast that Britain's unemployment rate would shoot higher to around 7.5 percent by the end of the year.

"Employment appears to have fallen since the COVID-19 outbreak, although this has been very significantly mitigated by the extensive take-up of support from temporary government schemes," the minutes said. 

"Surveys indicate that many workers have already returned to work from furlough, but considerable uncertainty remains about the prospects for employment after those support schemes unwind."

UK companies -- from major retailers to airlines -- are axing thousands of jobs despite government efforts to safeguard employment during the pandemic.

The state has been paying up to 80 percent of wages for almost ten million workers under its furlough scheme, which finance minister Rishi Sunak plans to end in October.

Replacing the scheme is a stimulus package worth £30 billion, including bonuses for companies retaining furloughed staff and offering apprenticeships, amid fears of mass youth unemployment resulting from the virus fallout.

Britain's official unemployment rate stands at 3.9 percent, while annual inflation is at 0.6 percent.

Other recent official data showed Britain's economy tanked in the first quarter by 2.2 percent -- the biggest quarterly contraction for more than 40 years. 

Economists expect there to have been a far sharper slump in the second quarter, or three months to June, placing Britain in a technical recession. 

Confirmation is due Wednesday when the first official estimate on second-quarter output is published.

Agence France-Presse

UK signs up for Sanofi-GSK coronavirus vaccine

PARIS - Pharma giants Sanofi and GSK have agreed to supply Britain with up to 60 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, the firms announced Wednesday.

The agreement covers a vaccine candidate developed by France's Sanofi in partnership with the UK's GSK and is subject to a "final contract".

Amid a global race to find a vaccine to halt the pandemic, Sanofi announced "ongoing discussions with the European Commission, with France and Italy on the negotiation team, and other governments to ensure global access to a novel coronavirus vaccine."

Both companies voiced in a statement their commitment "to making their COVID-19 vaccine candidate affordable and available globally."

The vaccine candidate "has the potential to play a significant role in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, both in the UK and around the world," said GSK Vaccines President Roger Connor.

Sanofi predicted regulatory approval for the vaccine "could be achieved by the first half of 2021."

UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma, quoted in the statement, hailed the progress but noted "the fact remains that there are no guarantees."

“In the meantime, it is important that we secure early access to a diverse range of promising vaccine candidates, like GSK and Sanofi, to increase our chances of finding one that works so we can protect the public and save lives."

Britain has already secured access to 90 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccines in deals with biotech firms BioNTech, Pfizer and Valneva.

The deals involve 30 million doses of a vaccine being developed by US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, and 60 million doses of another created by France's Valneva.

The government in London has also said it would purchase 100 million doses of a vaccine currently being trialed by Oxford University in partnership with AstraZeneca.

Britain has been one of the worst affected countries in the world since the outbreak began, with more than 45,750 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

Fears for 'Super Saturday' as pubs reopen in England

Pubs in England reopen on Saturday for the first time since late March, bringing cheer to drinkers and the industry but fears of public disorder and fresh coronavirus cases.

The move is part of a wider government plan to relaunch the hospitality, tourism and culture sectors and help the UK economy recover from more than three tough months of lockdown.

Restaurants, cinemas, galleries, museums, libraries and hairdressers can all welcome back the public, as can hotels, campsites, bed and breakfast, and self-catering accommodation.

Motoring body the RAC predicted the busiest weekend so far this year, with an estimated 10.5 million drivers on the roads, as overnight stays are allowed again.

But the focus of the reopening is on pubs, which have played an integral part in British social and cultural life for centuries.

"We are all expecting it to be a historic day for the industry," said Clive Watson, founder of the City Pub Group, which operates 47 pubs in southern England and Wales.

"It's been incredibly tough for us and for our customers, so we hope this can provide a much-needed boost."

'Total chaos' 

The first nationwide closure of pubs since the Great Plague of 1665 has contributed to a record slump in beer sales and compounded existing financial difficulties in the sector.

Takings could be up nearly 75 percent to £210 million ($262 million), according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, a think-tank.

It predicted 6.5 million customers - 1.5 million more than a usual weekend.

The British Beer and Pub Association said it hoped 80 percent of England's 28,000 pubs could open but it could take 12 months or more for trade to return to normal.

"If 10 percent of them are profitable, that will be a surprise to us," said chief executive Emma McClarkin, warning up to 18,000 were at risk of closure by the year end.

Some pubs are adopting a wait-and-see approach, as several surveys indicated many people were hesitant about mixing in larger groups.

In Newcastle, northeast England, where pubs are normally packed at weekends, just one in three city center pubs, bars and restaurants will be open, the local council said.

"We are genuinely concerned that this could be a day of total chaos for the pub trade," the owners of the popular Tyne Bar on the city's Quayside said in a tweet.

"We've decided it's not worth the risk."

Government guidelines insist on "minimum contact" between staff and customers, with table service only. Drinkers will also have to give contact details in case of any outbreak.

Britain has had some 44,000 deaths in the outbreak -- the third-highest in the world -- and concern remains about a second spike of infections as the lockdown is eased.

Pubs in Northern Ireland opened on Friday. A partial reopening is slated for July 13 in Wales and July 15 in Scotland.

DON'T BLOW IT

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called for the public to use common sense. "My message is, let's not blow this now, folks," he told LBC radio on Friday.

And he defended a weekend reopening, despite concerns that the so-called "Super Saturday" could see raucous New Year's Eve-style celebrations to mark the end of lockdown.

His finance ministry deleted a tweet urging people to "grab a drink and raise a glass" after criticism it was "tone-deaf" to the high death toll and widespread economic hardship.

The hospitality industry and the emergency services have also warned the public not to overdo it.

Brian Booth, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Federation representing rank-and-file officers, said alcohol fuelled crime and added pressure on overstretched health services.

Local accident and emergency departments were "akin to a circus full of drunken clowns" before the outbreak. "We do not need this once again," he added.

Other officers said they were "praying for rain" to reduce crowds.

Agence France-Presse

Thousands of sun-seekers spark emergency incident at UK beach

BOURNEMOUTH, United Kingdom - An English seaside resort declared a major incident Thursday after thousands of people flocked to the beach on the hottest day of the year so far, despite the threat of coronavirus.

Temperatures rose to a record 33.3 degrees Celsius (91.94 degrees Fahrenheit) at Heathrow Airport in west London, the Met Office said, a day after highs of 32.6 C saw huge crowds flock to the coast.

But the local authorities in Bournemouth said they were "appalled" at the scenes on its beaches, as the sunny weather saw an influx of thousands of people.

Their arrival resulted in gridlock on the roads, widespread illegal parking, piles of rubbish as well as anti-social behavior including drunken fights, they said.

Visiting the beach is permitted after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was eased, but people are still being urged to avoid large crowds, and pubs and restaurants do not open until July 4.

Council leader Vikki Slade said Bournemouth, on the southern English coast, was not ready to receive so many visitors and urged people to stay away.

"The irresponsible behavior and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe," she said.

Declaring a major incident allows the council to deploy additional resources, including police.

Other beaches across Britain were also busy, including Southend-on-Sea, where Magda Bewick was among those soaking up the rays.

"It's lovely, obviously to have a little sunbathe, and the kids are happy, in and out of the sea," she told AFP.

She said she had been placed on furlough from her job, "so what else is there to do? I’ve done enough gardening, it gets a bit boring".

She said the adults were keeping their distance from each other as much as possible, although admitted that many of the children were not: "They don't understand."

In Bournemouth, Assistant Chief Constable Sam de Reya of Dorset Police said his force was "reliant on people taking personal responsibility".

"Clearly we are still in a public health crisis and such a significant volume of people heading to one area places a further strain on emergency services resources," he said.

Britain has been hard hit by the global coronavirus outbreak, recording the worst death toll in Europe so far.

Infection rates have fallen significantly, but the health ministry on Thursday recorded another 149 deaths among confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 43,230.

Agence France-Presse

Heatwave hits UK amid COVID19 pandemic

Beachgoers enjoy the sunshine as they sunbathe on the beach and play in the sea in Southend on Sea, south east England, on Wednesday. Britain was bracing for a flood of visitors to its beaches as temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius in different parts of Europe, just days after lockdown ended and travel restrictions were lifted, with the heatwave expected to last until Friday in the south and center of the United Kingdom.

AFP

UK COVID-19 death toll tops 54,000 including suspected cases: Reuters tally

LONDON - The United Kingdom's suspected COVID-19 death toll has hit 54,089, according to a Reuters tally of official data sources that underline the country's status as one of the worst hit in the world.

The Reuters tally comprises fatalities where COVID-19 was mentioned on death certificates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to June 12, and up to June 14 in Scotland. It also includes more recent hospital deaths.

Unlike the lower death toll published daily by the government, the death certificate figures include suspected cases.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which updates the figures on a weekly basis, said on Tuesday the number of deaths involving COVID-19 in England and Wales up to June 12 rose to 48,866.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due on Tuesday to announce cinemas, museums and galleries in England can reopen next month in a bid to revitalize the lockdown-hit economy.

But the large death toll means criticism over his handling of the pandemic - that Britain was too slow to impose a lockdown or protect the elderly in care homes - is likely to persist.

Johnson has said the government has followed the best scientific advice and in April described its response to the pandemic as an "apparent success".

Britain has the second-highest death toll in the world on a per capita basis, according to Reuters calculations based on deaths following confirmed coronavirus tests.

However, testing and methods of recording deaths differ between countries and British ministers say it will take some time before proper comparisons can be made.

The death toll issued daily by the government, which measures deaths where patients had tested positive for coronavirus, stood at 42,647 on Monday, up 15 on the day in the smallest increase since mid-March.

-reuters-

UK COVID-19 death toll nears 52,000, Reuters tally shows

LONDON - The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll neared 52,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally of official data sources that highlighted the country's place as one of the worst hit in the world.

New data for England and Wales brought the toll to 51,766, the highest in Europe and putting the UK behind only the much larger United States in a pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 people around the world.

Such a large death toll has prompted criticism of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who opposition parties say was too slow to impose a lockdown or protect the elderly in nursing homes or to build a test and trace system.

The Reuters tally comprises fatalities where COVID-19 was mentioned on death certificates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up to May 29, and up to May 31 in Scotland. It also includes more recent hospital deaths.

Unlike the lower death toll published daily by the government, the Reuters tally includes suspected cases - which gives a more accurate picture because testing was scarce early in the crisis.

Johnson's government has said it is making real progress in driving down the number of deaths that take place each day.

The UK death toll for confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose by 55 to 40,597 on Monday, the lowest rise since a lockdown was imposed in March.

Still, the death toll surpasses even some projections by the government's own scientific advisers.

In March, Britain's chief scientific adviser said keeping deaths below 20,000 would be a "good outcome." In April, Reuters reported the government's worst-case scenario was 50,000 deaths.

Epidemiologists say excess mortality - deaths from all causes that exceed the 5-year average for the time of year - is the best way of gauging deaths from a disease outbreak because it is internationally comparable.

Although these figures take longer to compile, Britain is faring badly here too.

About 64,000 more people than usual have died in the United Kingdom during this year's pandemic, according to the latest available data, an expert from the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

-reuters-

UK's Johnson offers visas for millions in Hong Kong

LONDON - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday he would offer millions of Hong Kongers visas and a possible route to UK citizenship if China persists with its national security law.

"Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life -- which China pledged to uphold -- is under threat," he wrote in an article for The Times newspaper and the South China Morning Post.

"If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away; instead we will honour our obligations and provide an alternative."

About 350,000 people in Hong Kong currently hold British National (Overseas) passports, which allow visa-free access to Britain for up to six months, Johnson wrote.

Another 2.5 million people would be eligible to apply for one.

"If China imposes its national security law, the British government will change our immigration rules and allow any holder of these passports from Hong Kong to come to the UK for a renewable period of 12 months and be given further immigration rights, including the right to work, which could place them on a route to citizenship," he wrote.

The new law was brought in after a wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and approved by Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament as necessary to tackling "terrorism" and "separatism".

Opponents fear it will lead to political oppression in the financial hub, eroding freedoms and autonomy supposedly guaranteed in the 1997 handover from Britain to China.

Johnson said the Hong Kong law would "curtail its freedoms and dramatically erode its autonomy".

If implemented, "Britain would then have no choice but to uphold our profound ties of history and friendship with the people of Hong Kong", he wrote.

London has already announced plans to extend visa rights to those eligible for BN(O) passports and joined international condemnation of Beijing.

But Johnson's personal intervention significantly ups the pressure.

"I hope it will not come to this," he wrote, insisting that "Britain does not seek to prevent China's rise".

"It is precisely because we welcome China as a leading member of the world community that we expect it to abide by international agreements," he wrote.

He rejected as "false" claims that London organised the protests, adding: "Britain wants nothing more than for Hong Kong to succeed under 'one country, two systems'.

"I hope that China wants the same. Let us work together to make it so."

Agence France-Presse

UK nurses celebrate easing of restrictions

NHS workers react at the Aintree University Hospital during the last day of the Clap for our Carers campaign on Thursday in support of the NHS, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Liverpool, Britain. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an easing of restrictions as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to decrease after the United Kingdom had the most number of cases in Europe.

-reuters-

UK to require employers to pay 20-30 pct of furloughed wage cost - The Times

LONDON - The United Kingdom has drawn up plans to require employers to cover 20 percent to 30 percent of furloughed employees' wages starting August to reduce the vast burden of the coronavirus crisis on government finances, The Times newspaper reported.

The United Kingdom on May 12 extended its job retention scheme - the centerpiece of its attempts to cushion the coronavirus hit to the economy - by four months but told employers they would have to help to meet its huge cost from August.

"The Treasury has drawn up plans that would require employers to cover between 20 and 30 percent of people’s wages," The Times said. 

"They would also be required to cover the cost of employer’s national insurance contributions, on average 5 percent of wages."

The UK has over 250,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 36,000 deaths, according to government figures. 

-reuters-

UK coronavirus toll over 40,000; 10,000 deaths in care homes

LONDON - Britain's official coronavirus death toll is now over 40,000 with almost 10,000 dead in care homes in England and Wales alone, according to a statistical update released on Tuesday.

Some 40,902 deaths from coronavirus were registered by May 8, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), meaning the true toll will be even higher when deaths registered over the last 10 days are taken into account.

The ONS figures include deaths where COVID-19 is suspected or mentioned on the death certificate.

The government's official rolling tally, which was 34,796 as of Monday, only records deaths after positive tests.

Either way, Britain is the worst-hit country in Europe, and the government has been criticized heavily for its response to the outbreak.

The ONS figures show a sharp fall in coronavirus deaths in the week up to May 8, reinforcing ministers' claims that the country is past the peak.

Numbers in England and Wales fell from 6,035 to 3,930. Care home deaths accounted for 42.4 percent of the total -- up from 40.4 percent the week before.

Deaths in care homes fell at a slower rate than the population at large, and the total number of deaths in care homes in England and Wales now stands at 9,975.

A cross-party parliamentary committee looking into the government's handling of the crisis on Tuesday said testing had been "inadequate" in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"The decision to pursue an approach of initially concentrating testing in a limited number of laboratories and to expand them gradually... is one of the most consequential made during this crisis," they said.

"From it followed the decision on March 12 to cease testing in the community and retreat to testing principally within hospitals."

The decision meant residents in care homes could not get tests when the virus was at its most potent stage, they added.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told parliament he was encouraged that care home deaths were falling.

A total of 62 percent of care homes in England had no reported cases of COVID-19 at all, he added.

Just over a quarter (27 percent) of all deaths in England from the virus were in such places, compared with a European average of about half, he told MPs.

"We will not rest from doing whatever is humanly possible to protect our care homes from this appalling virus," he said. 

Agence France-Presse