Man pipes to a bottle of whiskyMan pipes to a bottle of whisky

News Round-Up

June 22: Different rules for double jabbed; Quarantine for contacts and holidays reviewed; JLR’s app investment; Piper serenades whisky

  • Here are the headlines on Tuesday, June 22
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Time 6:49 am, June 22, 2021

Government moves to scrap 10-day quarantine for Covid contacts

Matt Hancock has said he plans to scrap the requirement for people who have had two Covid-19 jabs and come into contact with an infected person to isolate for 10 days.

The Health Secretary said the approach is currently being piloted but will be introduced as soon as possible once clinicians have looked at the data.

It came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the July 19 date for easing the final restrictions in England is ‘looking good’, when asked if he would rule out further lockdowns this winter.


Quarantine rules could be dropped for double jabbed

Holidaymakers returning from Amber list countries who have had two vaccines may not have to isolate for 10 days under government plans.

The Times reported more holidaymakers could enjoy quarantine free travel from August under plans to overhaul restrictions.

The paper says ministers are set to unveil their plan to allow people with two shots to avoid quarantining for 10 days on return from an Amber list country this Thursday.


Wales to speed up second vaccine doses in race against Delta variant

Wales will speed up its coronavirus vaccination programme by bringing forward second jabs for people aged over 50, the country’s health minister has said.

Yesterday, amendments to restrictions included allowing the number of people who can attend a wedding or civil partnership reception or wake to be determined by the size of a venue instead of being limited to 30.

Small grassroots music and comedy venues can also now operate on the same basis as hospitality venues, meaning six people from six households can attend.

Call for people with asthma to receive Covid-19 booster vaccines

Thousands of people with asthma missed out on getting their Covid vaccine on time, a charity has warned, as it called for people with the condition to receive a booster jab this autumn.

Asthma UK said everyone with asthma who is eligible for a free annual flu vaccine should be on the list when booster coronavirus vaccines are rolled out, following months of confusion over the existing jabs.

Cars exempted from Greater Manchester’s new Clean Air Zone

Cars will be exempt from a Clean Air Zone to be introduced across Greater Manchester but buses and lorries will be charged £60 a day.

The scheme, which aims to clean up dirty air polluted by traffic, will launch on May 30 next year.

Vans and minibuses will be charged £10 a day and taxis registered in Greater Manchester, £7.50 a day, from the following year, 2023 and, at the same time, a charge of £60 for coaches will apply.

The scheme is expected to be rubber-stamped at a meeting next week of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) representing the 10 boroughs of the region.


HMS Queen Elizabeth takes on ‘lion’s share’ of operations against Islamic State

The Royal Navy flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth is taking on the ‘lion’s share’ of operations against the so-called Islamic State group in Iraq.

It has also piqued the interest of Russian warplanes, who try to keep tabs on its cutting-edge F-35 jet in a ‘cat-and-mouse’ game with British and US pilots.

Speaking aboard the 65,000-tonne carrier on its first-ever deployment, Commodore Steve Moorhouse said the UK is carrying out most of the missions to wipe out the remnants of IS in Iraq as the US focuses on its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Lead from petrol in London air despite 1990s ban

Lead from petrol persists in London’s air despite it being banned in 1999, research suggests.

Experts found levels in London’s atmosphere have dropped drastically since lead additives in petrol were phased out, and currently meet UK air quality targets.

However, despite this drop, airborne particles in the city are still highly lead-enriched compared to natural background levels.

Supermarket shares rocket after Morrisons rejects £5.5bn bid

Shares in the UK’s biggest supermarkets soared yesterday after Morrisons rejected a takeover bid from a US private equity giant.

Morrisons saw its share price increase by around a third soon after markets opened in London following a weekend of speculation around the future of the business.

On Sunday, Morrisons said it had been sent an ‘unsolicited, highly conditional, non-binding proposal’ from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a New York-based private equity firm. It rejected the offer.

FTSE makes gains after takeover talk lifts supermarket firms

Buoyant supermarket stocks lifted the London markets as a £5.5bn private equity approach for Morrisons sparked the sector into life.

Morrisons saw its share soar by 34.6 per cent, or 61.75p, to 240.2p at the close as investors predicted a bidding war could be on the horizon.

London’s top flight closed 44.82 points higher, or 0.64 per cent, at 7,062.29 yesterday. The German Dax increased by 0.95 per cent and the French Cac moved 0.51 per cent higher.

Monday’s Car Dealer headlines you may have missed

Jaguar Land Rover announces backing of Caura car fee app

Caura – a vehicle management app that aims to collate all aspects of car management into a single platform – has raised £3m in a new funding round.

One of the key investors is Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures subsidiary, which is looking at how the Caura app could be integrated into its vehicles.

Caura ties up all of the major outgoings related to car ownership into one space. It allows users to input their registration number to automatically enable payments for services such as MOT, insurance, tolls and tax.

Piper serenades whisky to enhance its flavour

A piper has been serenading casks of whisky in a musical bid to enhance the flavour of the drink.

Ali Levack, frontman of Scottish ‘neo-trad’ band Project Smok, has joined forces with whisky brand Wee Smoky to release a single in harmony with a new bottle.

The partnership began when Project Smok auctioned naming rights to their new single in a creative way to tackle loss of income due to cancellation of live gigs during the pandemic. Wee Smoky won the auction, and will celebrate the release of the song ‘Wee Smoky’ with its own release of 550 special edition bottles, with £1 from each bottle going to the band.

Cricketer hits six through his own car window

A cricketer saw joy turn to despair in the blink of an eye this weekend when his colossal shot went through his car window.

Asif Ali, 38, was appearing for Illingworth St Mary’s Cricket Club on Sunday in a Halifax cup quarter-final against Sowerby St Peters when heaved a delivery over the boundary rope.

Watching the shot sail through the air, Ali quickly realised the ball was heading for his parked car and heard it smash through the rear window.

Brightening up

Today, lingering spots of rain in the far south will tend to ease, leaving a dry and sunny day for many, says the BBC. However, a band of cloud and patchy rain will move into N Ireland and western Scotland later.

Tonight, cloud and rain in northwestern areas will become more widespread, reaching much of Scotland and parts of northern England by dawn. Further south will remain dry and clear throughout.

Tomorrow, southern, central and eastern parts of England will be dry and sunny. The rest of the UK will be largely cloudy with spells of light rain or drizzle likely throughout. Light winds.

James Baggott's avatar

James is the founder and editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine, and CEO of parent company Baize Group. James has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years writing about cars and the car industry.



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