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March 30 round-up: PM urges caution; France surge on watch list; Suez Canal unplugged; New Outback

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Time 6:58 am, March 30, 2021

  • Here are the headlines on Tuesday, March 30

PM urges caution as restrictions ease

Boris Johnson has appealed to the public to exercise caution as coronavirus lockdown restrictions in England are eased amid fears of a new wave of the disease spreading from Europe.

At a Downing Street press conference the Prime Minister acknowledged it had been a ‘big day’ for many people as they were able to see friends and family outdoors for the first time since the latest controls were imposed. 


However, he said it was still not clear how ‘robust’ the defences provided by the vaccination programme would prove if the rise in infections on the continent was repeated in the UK.

Johnson: UK looking ‘very closely’ at surge in France

France’s surge in coronavirus cases in being analysed ‘very closely’ by the UK government, Boris Johnson has said.


His comment came amid speculation that France could be added to the UK’s travel ban list. That measure will be discussed at a meeting of the ‘Covid O’ committee today, according to the Daily Telegraph.

From April 6, hauliers from outside the UK and Ireland visiting England for more than two days will need to take a Covid-19 test within 48 hours of their arrival and once every 72 hours afterwards. But the government could go further by adding France to the UK’s red list.

Suez Canal open for business again

Salvage teams have freed a colossal container ship stuck for nearly a week in the Suez Canal, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the world’s most vital waterways.

Helped by the tides, a flotilla of tugboats wrenched the bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the canal’s sandy bank, where it had been lodged since March 23.

The tugs blared their horns in jubilation as they guided the Ever Given through the water. The giant vessel headed towards the Great Bitter Lake where it will be inspected, said Evergreen Marine Corp, a Taiwan-based shipping company that operates the ship.

No Easter weekend getaway 

The traditional Easter getaway will be absent for a second year in a row as millions of people plan to stay off the roads this weekend, new figures suggest.

Easter Monday is set to be the quietest day for traffic during the bank holiday period with just 28 per cent of drivers planning a trip, according to an AA-Yonder survey of 15,000 motorists.


Saturday is expected to see the most activity, with 36 per cent of drivers due to hit the road. This is ahead of Good Friday (31%) and Easter Sunday (30%).

RAF Typhoons scramble to intercept Russian aircraft

Live-armed Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth on Monday morning to intercept two Russian Tu-142 Bear-F aircraft as they approached UK borders.

The aircraft were first detected by Nato and monitored and intercepted by Norwegian Quick Reaction Alert (QRA).

The interception was handed over to the RAF, who then scrambled out of the Lossiemouth base near Moray. RAF Typhoons tracked the aircraft across the North Sea, supported by Voyager Air-to-Air Refuelling from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Monday headlines you may have missed:

Apple loses latest round of legal fight with Swatch

Technology giant Apple has lost the latest round of a legal fight with watchmaker Swatch over the use of the phrase ‘one more thing’.

Swatch, which is based in Switzerland, had applied to trademark the phrase. Apple, which is based in America, objected and said the phrase had been associated with Apple products for more than 20 years.

Bosses said Swatch knew of Apple’s link to the phrase and had made the trademark application in ‘bad faith’. But a judge has ruled against Apple after a High Court hearing in London.

Deliveroo lowers London float price to bottom of target range

Deliveroo has said it will price shares for its highly anticipated stock market listing towards the bottom of its price range due to ‘volatile’ market conditions.

It comes after a week in which a raft of leading fund managers said they will reject the listing – which could be the UK’s biggest for a decade – amid concerns over workers’ rights.

The takeaway delivery firm is set to announce its final pricing on Wednesday but has narrowed its share price range to between £3.90 and £4.10 per share. It said it now expects it will be valued at between £7.6bn and £7.85bn.

Third of households ‘saved for emergencies’

Saving for emergencies is the most popular reason why working age households are putting money away, a survey has found.

Amid economic uncertainty, around one in three (34%) adults surveyed between January and March were saving for emergencies or a ‘rainy day’ when the money might be needed, Scottish Widows found.

Holidays and travelling were the next most popular reason for saving, with 29 per cent saying they were putting money away for this reason, while 22 per cent were saving for home improvements.

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Consumer credit repayments at strongest annual rate since 1994

Households made net repayments on products such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts at the strongest annual rate in 27 years in February, Bank of England figures show.

With people paying back more than they borrowed, consumer credit borrowing fell by 9.9 per cent annually – marking a new low since records started in 1994, the report said.

Within the total, credit card borrowing shrank by 21 per cent over the year to February, also marking a new low.

New Subaru Outback makes European debut

Subaru has revealed the Outback in European specification, after having been on sale in America for well over a year.

The Outback is a rugged estate model that’s designed for people who live outdoors lifestyles, combining the styling and practicality of a traditional estate with the lifted ride height and off-road abilities of an SUV.

The new Outback has a permanent all-wheel-drive system and a CVT transmission. The engine is a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder boxer unit, which Subaru says has 90 per cent of its parts redesigned. It is due to arrive in European showrooms in April.

Exceptionally warmer

Dry, sunny and exceptionally warm across England and Wales today, says the BBC, with temperatures into the low-to-mid 20s in places. Rain will continue to persist across northwest Scotland, with some gusty winds.

Mainly dry, clear and calm tonight across England and Wales, although the odd shower cannot be entirely ruled out. Rain will persist across north and west Scotland, pushing into Northern Ireland later

Another very warm day tomorrow with decent sunshine for many in England and Wales, although the odd shower may develop. Rain will affect northern and central Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

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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