“This isn’t the first time ministers have given NHS and social care staff big promises on PPE. But there has been a mismatch between statements at Downing Street press conferences and the realities facing health and care staff on the ground.

“Staff have been raising the lack of PPE for weeks. We hope the government’s plans today deliver the adequate supplies of PPE our brave healthcare staff deserve.”

Denis Campbell  www.theguardian.com 

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has urged NHS staff not to overuse personal protective equipment, sparking criticism from doctors’ and nurses’ leaders.

“We need everyone to treat PPE like the precious resource it is,” he said on Friday. “Everyone should use the equipment they clinically need, in line with the guidelines: no more and no less.”

After weeks of criticism over the lack of vital equipment, Hancock told the daily Downing Street briefing a “herculean effort” was under way to ensure every health and social care worker dealing with coronavirus has the equipment they need.

The government does not recommend the general use of protective face masks to slow the spread of disease, and Hancock warned the public against overusing protective equipment.

He reiterated that hand washing, social distancing and staying at home are the best ways to avoid infection. “A front door is better than any face mask”, he said.

Hancock and the chief nursing officer, Ruth May, declined to give a figure for how many healthcare staff have died after contracting the virus.

The health secretary said a nationwide delivery system had been set up, with the help of the armed forces, to distribute masks, aprons and other equipment to 58,000 healthcare providers.

He said: “We’ve had to create a whole new logistics network, essentially from scratch.” Within a week, every NHS hospital would be receiving daily deliveries, he added.

The shadow health secretary, Jon Ashworth, welcomed the promise that more PPE would reach the frontline but pressed Hancock to ensure his target was met.

Ashworth said: “This isn’t the first time ministers have given NHS and social care staff big promises on PPE. But there has been a mismatch between statements at Downing Street press conferences and the realities facing health and care staff on the ground.

“Staff have been raising the lack of PPE for weeks. We hope the government’s plans today deliver the adequate supplies of PPE our brave healthcare staff deserve.”

Doctors’ and nurses’ leaders criticised Hancock’s plan as inadequate, given the growing death toll of NHS staff from coronavirus.

The British Medical Association said PPE shortages could spell “real disaster” for doctors. It also took issue with Hancock’s insistence that the NHS has enough PPE to go round but needs frontline staff to use “no more and no less” than they clinically require.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the BMA’s chair, said: “We are dealing with an unknown, highly infectious, and potentially deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of several healthcare workers, including 11 doctors in the UK.

“It is absurd that the people trained to treat this disease are the ones who are not being appropriately protected – and without them, we face real disaster.

“We note the government’s announcement this afternoon … However, PPE should not be a ‘precious resource’ and for NHS staff facing shortages of protection they need today, they don’t want to hear of a plan, but that this vital equipment is made available to the frontline now.”

Susan Masters, director of nursing at the Royal College of Nursing, also voiced scepticism that Hancock’s pledges would end the supply problems that are causing alarm among staff, and denied nurses were misusing PPE.

Masters said: “These figures on deliveries are only impressive when nursing staff stop contacting me to say what they need to use wasn’t available. The calls are still coming through – people are petrified. They have seen colleagues die already.

“Things have improved in recent days and I credit the government with that. But the safety of nurses and care staff must not be compromised. They are pretty clear about what they need to do to stay safe and they will be angered by any suggestion they cause shortages by misusing kit.”

As well as promising to tackle what he acknowledged was the “enormous challenge” of ensuring PPE reaches those who need it, Hancock said lab capacity had been increased sufficiently to allow any health or social care worker who needs it, to be tested.

He visited a newly opened “mega-lab” in Milton Keynes on Thursday and said 15 drive-through testing centres were available.

He stressed the complexities of meeting demand for PPE against the background of rocketing global demand, and without a significant domestic supply sector.

Diplomatic staff around the world have been pressed into service trying to source equipment, Hancock said, with Whitehall officials in London trying to organise transporting it to the UK.

He praised firms, including Burberry and Rolls-Royce, which have turned their facilities to manufacturing PPE – and urged others to do so, based on requirements published by the government. “If you’ve got production facilities, and you can meet our published specifications, we want to hear from you,” he said.

Appearing alongside Hancock, May underlined the toll, both physical and mental, that treating the virus is having on her frontline colleagues. But she said they were heartened by the public’s support. “The rainbows and NHS signs in the windows lift me, and they lift my colleagues,” she said.

She and Hancock emphasised the importance of the public continuing to use the NHS for conditions unrelated to the coronavirus.

The extraordinary willingness of the British public to help out has been considered one of the few bright points of the crisis, but only a few thousand tasks are being carried out around the country so far.

Dan Sabbagh  www.theguardian.com 

NHS officials have said it has taken longer than anticipated to get the coronavirus volunteer programme up and running after many of the 750,000 who signed up complained that they had not yet been given jobs.

The extraordinary willingness of the British public to help out has been considered one of the few bright points of the crisis, but only a few thousand tasks are being carried out around the country so far.

With 2.5 million elderly and vulnerable people in the UK supposed to be receiving help from the scheme, there is concern that people who are self-isolating for at least 12 weeks could be falling through the safety net.

Neil Churchill, an NHS England administrator working on the volunteer team, explained “why it’s taking time for you to get your first asks” in a post on a Facebook group for volunteer helpers on Friday.

He said there were “a lot more [identities] to check” than initially expected, and it was only after that that “we ask people in the NHS to make referrals”. But NHS staff have also been slow to call for the volunteers to assist.

“It just takes time for info to get through to every GP practice, every pharmacist and every discharge team. Referrals are in the thousands right now and we expect they will be in the tens of thousands soon,” Churchill said.

Volunteers are registered on the Good SAM app and, when signed in, wait for an alert indicating that a job needs doing. But Facebook groups for volunteers are full of people expressing disappointment that they have waited hours without being given a task.

Dean Tonna, 57, from Leicester, said he signed up as soon as it was announced last month and was told that they would do DRB (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks and get back to him in a week. It took a bit longer than expected, but he was cleared to help last Thursday.

“I was sent a lot of instructions and have been on call ever since and in nearly 250 hours I have not had a single thing to do. On the app you can see other responders in the area and there are a good 20 people around where I am. I am not sure if they are busy but having looked on Twitter it looks like no one is doing anything.”

 War veteran, 99, receives guard of honour from nurses after surviving coronavirus – video

A total of 750,000 people signed up in less than a week at the end of March, in response to a call by Matt Hancock, the health secretary, for volunteers to help those who have been told to stay indoors for at least 12 weeks. The appeal was so successful that new sign-ups have been halted.

Volunteers have been asked to be on standby to pick up medicines from pharmacies, drive patients to and from appointments, and call to check on people isolating at home, following referrals from doctors, pharmacists and other NHS staff.

Melanie Westell, 41, from Kent, said she had signed up to volunteer two and a half weeks ago and last Friday she was told she had been accepted. “I have been on duty for 87 hours over the last week and have not had anything come through,” she said.

“The only thing I can put it down to is that when doctors or pharmacies, for example, refer vulnerable people to the service they have to fill out a form for all the services they may need.”

Some people have complained they have been rejected without clear explanation, saying they supplied or have had up-to-date criminal record checks. But others say they have been asked to help and found the experience rewarding.

The scheme is being run by the Royal Voluntary Service, with the support of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in conjunction with the NHS.

A spokesman for the RVS said the scheme would expand in numbers over the coming days and weeks: “It will be a gradual and developing process as more healthcare professionals, pharmacists and local authorities refer people who need help in greater numbers.”

The row over the Cabinet minister accused of breaking lockdown rules escalated last night after neighbours rubbished claims that the mansion where he is staying is his main home. 

David Churchill  www.dailymail.co.uk

The row over the Cabinet minister accused of breaking lockdown rules escalated last night after neighbours rubbished claims that the mansion where he is staying is his main home. 

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, a key player in the Government’s coronavirus response, claimed he had not flouted his own advice by travelling 150 miles to the Herefordshire property because it was the family home. 

But one of Mr Jenrick’s close neighbours described claims this address was his primary home as ‘codswallop’. 

The Daily Mail has been told the Jenricks spend most of their time at their £2.5million townhouse in London, where the children attend school. 

The Newark MP also states on his website that he lives ‘in Southwell near Newark, and London’ – with no mention of Herefordshire. 

Neighbours at the £1.1million Herefordshire residence insisted they rarely saw him. One said: ‘We might see him on the odd weekend but the family are not even here every weekend, let alone full time. 

‘Mr Jenrick has had builders working on the house for much of the last three years.’ 

Neighbours at the £1.1million Herefordshire (St Peter and St Paul’s in Eye, Herefordshire) residence last night insisted they rarely saw him. One said: ‘We might see him on the odd weekend but the family are not even here every weekend, let alone full time’

Another neighbour confirmed builders had been a regular fixture at Eye Manor, which Mr Jenrick bought in 2009 and is 120 miles from his constituency. 

They said: ‘It’s a fact the family come here occasionally at the weekend, but they do not live here year-round. 

‘The children are at school in London for one thing, and both parents have demanding jobs that they could not do from here ordinarily, one would think. 

‘I suppose you could say this house is more like their holiday home.’ 

A Government source confirmed Mr Jenrick had ‘moved his family to his second home’. 

Another source close to the family in the capital said they lived at their Westminster address during the week. The distinction matters as the Government issued lockdown instructions on March 23 stating people should not visit second homes ‘for isolation purposes or holidays’. 

But Mr Jenrick travelled to his second home from London on March 29 following a press conference he gave in Downing Street. 

He has also faced criticism after it emerged he visited his parents another 40 miles away last weekend in a Shropshire village. 

Mr Jenrick said he was dropping off medicine and food and did not enter their home. But he has previously urged people to rely on the NHS for delivering medicines. 

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: ‘The Secretary of State set out in two different statements the reasons for the journeys that he made and we are confident he complied with the social-distancing rules.’ 

But Mr Jenrick’s opposite number in the Shadow Cabinet, Labour MP Steve Reed, believed the minister had still not explained why he needed to travel across the country from London. He said: ‘It would appear he could have stayed self-isolating with his family in London to prevent that further travel.’ 

Former defence minister and Tory MP for neighbouring Broxtowe, Anna Soubry, tweeted: ‘He totally ignored his own instruction to #stayhome which he repeatedly said in media interviews and from the No10 podium. 

‘It smacks of arrogance and senior ministers must practise what they preach.’ 

Mr Jenrick is understood to have claimed his family moved to Herefordshire on March 20, before lockdown rules were announced. 

The 38-year-old faced controversy when he ran for his Newark seat in a 2014 by-election after declining to mention his and his City lawyer wife’s £6million property portfolio, which includes a £2.3million flat in Marylebone, central London.

He presented himself as a ‘father, local man, son of a secretary and small businessman and state primary school-educated’ candidate. 

His party CV omitted to say he went to a £13,000-a-year private secondary school. At the time, he promised to move his family to Newark, saying he was ‘almost sure’ he would sell the Herefordshire house. 

Despite also having a rented property in his constituency, which he bills taxpayers £2,000 a month for, locals have told the Mail they do not see him as much as they would like. Last night Mr Jenrick declined requests for further comment. 

On Thursday he told the Mail: ‘My house in Herefordshire is the place I, my wife and my young children consider to be our family home and my family were there before any restrictions on travel were announced. 

‘I have been working in London… putting in place the system to shield the group most vulnerable to coronavirus. 

‘Once I was able to work from home it was right I went home to do so and be with my wife and help care for my three young children. 

‘I will be staying at my family home until Government advice changes or if I am needed in person in Westminster before the parliamentary session resumes after the Easter recess.’ 

Robert Jenrick not the only one living on another planet. Two worlds: “Them and Us”

Kim Willsher  www.theguardian.com 

A group of would-be holidaymakers who flew in a private jet from London to the Côte d’Azur in France has been turned back by police.

Seven men and three women arrived on the chartered aircraft to Marseille-Provence airport, where helicopters were waiting to fly them on to Cannes, where they had rented a luxury villa.

The men, aged 40-50, and women, aged 23-25, were refused permission to enter France and ordered by police to fly back to the UK.

“They were coming for a holiday in Cannes and three helicopters were waiting on the tarmac,” a border police spokesperson told Agence France-Presse. “We notified them they were not allowed to enter the national territory and they left four hours later.”

Once the Embraer Legacy jet had landed at Marseille-Provence, the group, made up of several nationalities including Croatian, German, French, Romanian and Ukrainian, reportedly tried to get help from contacts to continue their journey.

“They tried to make use of their connections and made a few phone calls,” the source said.

The helicopter pilots were told to return to their base and were fined for breaking the French lockdown rules.

The jet, chartered by a Croatian businessman reportedly in “finance and property”, arrived last Saturday, but details were only released on Thursday. French police said they would be carrying out strict checks on private aircraft arriving in France over the Easter period.

All non-essential travel inside France has been banned since 17 March and a recent tightening of the restrictions means anyone entering the country should hold an international travel certificate showing the journey is essential.

The authorities in France and Britain have made it clear that travelling to a second home in either country does not qualify as essential.

“Crossing borders needs a legitimate or urgent reason,” a police spokesperson said.

BFMTV reported that nine of the jet passengers returned to the UK and the 10th chartered a private jet to Berlin.

This post gives a link to the Covid-19 tracker app mentioned earlier.. It shows that there are 3,636 individuals in East Devon sufficiently community spirited and motivated to be providing daily data on any symptoms they might be exhibiting.

Around the UK there are 2m contributors.

As a result, and in the absence of any general NHS or Public Health data on who might be self isolating as well as seriously ill, the current estimate for East Devon infection rate is:

Region
East Devon

• # CONTRIBUTORS
  3636
• % OF PEOPLE WITH SYMPTOMATIC COVID (ESTIMATED)
  3.49%

This is around 4,100 individuals for East Devon, compared to official estimates of confirmed cases in Devon Local Authority of around 290 (Thursday)

The authorities simply aren’t in control.

https://joinzoe.carto.com/me

On 12 March, the chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, and chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, announced a new plan to flatten the curve of the epidemic that would sweep through our population. 

They reassured us that herd immunity would kick in once 60% of the population had been infected. Social distancing and washing our hands would ease the pressure on health services, they said. 

Crucially, community testing and contract tracing would stop immediately. At that point, we were still four weeks behind Italy. The media felt safe, reassured by two eminent physicians.

The trouble is, those scientists were wrong. 

But it isn’t too late. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, we need a change of direction. Local authorities must take control of their public-health outbreak management teams.

Anthony Costello, professor of global health at UCL, and former director of maternal and child health at the World Health Organization  www.theguardian.com

When the lockdown is lifted, will the virus return? Of course it will. Matt Hancock has said we will do 100,000 tests each day by the end of April, but Britain still doesn’t have a way to control the virus that goes beyond lockdown. Without a proper programme of community surveillance and contact tracing, we won’t stop the spread of coronavirus. As patients pour into hospitals again, a series of national lockdowns will follow. It’s a pattern that could go on for years – until we have a vaccine.

The problem with Hancock’s plan is that testing alone won’t break the chain of community transmission. To stop the spread of a virus, tests must be linked to community surveillance and contact tracing. This ensures that people who have the virus, and people they have come into contact with, can be identified quickly and quarantined at home to prevent the virus spreading. The government’s tests will measure how many people have had the virus, and will show whether health workers are immune – but without community surveillance, tests alone won’t prevent its spread.

On 12 March, the chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, and chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, announced that the UK had moved from containing the virus to delaying its spread. Their plan was to flatten the curve of the epidemic that would sweep through our population. They reassured us that herd immunity would kick in once 60% of the population had been infected. Social distancing and washing our hands would ease the pressure on health services, they said. Crucially, community testing and contract tracing would stop immediately. At that point, we were still four weeks behind Italy. The media felt safe, reassured by two eminent physicians.

The trouble is, those scientists were wrong. The maths wasn’t difficult: working off their figures, about 40 million people in the UK would be infected by coronavirus, and between 200,000 and 400,000 would eventually die. When the government’s mathematicians modelled figures from Italy and showed that 30% of people admitted to hospital ended up in intensive care, they warned the government that the NHS would be overwhelmed. The government backtracked within three days, and shifted to suppressing rather than mitigating the virus.

In reality, little changed. The government’s beliefs were founded on the assumption that coronavirus behaves like flu. It doesn’t. Its mortality rate is higher, there is little evidence that it is seasonal, and it poses a far greater threat to the NHS. Without a programme of community surveillance and contact tracing, the virus will continue to spread. Britain will be subject to routine flare-ups and repeated lockdowns.

I spoke to a senior international epidemic expert, who wished to remain anonymous. They described the UK’s response as too weak. “Finding these viruses is like guerrilla warfare. If you don’t know where the virus is hiding you cannot control it. We must use a bundle of measures to chase it. We must organise teams of friendly community workers to find people with symptoms, test for the virus, isolate and treat them, and trace their contacts. Workers must check on them in their homes every one or two days,” they said.

I asked them whether social distancing alone could beat the virus. “It won’t work,” they told me. “You can stop contact tracing in the hotspots, but when you lift the lockdown, everywhere at the same time, you’ll face a problem: the virus will come back. New hotspots will form.

“Without a community programme for case detection and contact tracing, you won’t find the virus until it’s too late.”

In China, Xi Jinping initially prevaricated, suppressing the findings of a fact-finding mission on 4 January that investigated the outbreak in Wuhan. But by 26 January, China had placed more than 50 million people under quarantine; 40 provinces reported a total of 2,744 cases and 80 deaths. The Chinese communist party mobilised thousands of community workers to scale up a national testing effort, while mapping infections using case definitions based on symptoms.

Almost 40,000 health workers were flown in from across China to help with this huge community surveillance effort. The government enforced regional lockdowns, closed down shops, bars, universities and schools, and policed the supermarkets and pharmacies. They developed apps to monitor peoples’ symptoms and their compliance with quarantine, and set up 24-hour TV channels in every province to update people on data, progress and prevention. With this comprehensive response, China managed to suppress the transmission of the virus in less than two months.

By contrast, the UK was slow to act, and timid when it did. The government mistakenly based its coronavirus response on social distancing alone. The UK’s Scientific Advisory Group of Experts (Sage) didn’t even ask their mathematical advisers to model a community testing programme. Neil Ferguson reportedly said community testing and contact tracing wasn’t included as a possible strategy in the original modelling because not enough tests were available. But we had eight weeks’ notice.

We still don’t have a coordinated mobilisation of general practices and public health outbreak management teams. None are linked with digital apps or laboratory testing. In one of the best research cultures in the world, we failed to create the community surveillance and testing effort needed to stop the spread of the virus.

The government and its advisers are now committed to their strategy of delaying the spread of coronavirus, which they hope will eventually lead to herd immunity. Our present predicament is a symptom of past decisions: the decision not to roll out testing sooner put the government on the back foot, scrambling to catch up with the virus.

But it isn’t too late. To prevent the spread of coronavirus, we need a change of direction. Local authorities must take control of their public-health outbreak management teams. We need a centralised app and database to allow citizens to report their symptoms, such as the NHSX app that researchers have been working on since January.

GP networks, working with teams of trained volunteers and retired health workers equipped with personal protective equipment, could visit everyone reporting suspicious symptoms at home every one to two days. If there is testing, all the better. But symptom-based reporting will do. With a proper community protection scheme in place, local authorities could shield their population from the threat of the virus, which has taken hold in hotspots like London and the cities of the Midlands and north west.

The lockdown will flatten the curve, but we have a month or more before it lifts. This gives us time. To prevent the virus spreading to less affected areas, we have a choice: a dramatic change of direction, or praying that vaccinologists can work miracles.

Owl naturally has a soft spot for vets and thanks them for stepping up to help fill the critical gaps that are now showing in our chronically underfunded NHS. (They are pretty “hands on” clinicians after all)

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/apr/09/vets-recruited-to-work-in-hospitals-during-coronavirus-outbreak

NHS trusts are recruiting vets to help relieve pressure on health service staff as hospitals struggle to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

About 150 vets are volunteering as respiratory assistants with Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation trust, while Hampshire hospitals NHS foundation trust has invited vets, veterinary nurses and dentists to apply for jobs.

Hospitals are being stretched by the scale of the outbreak, which has yet to reach its peak. Pressures are being exacerbated by staff absences due to healthcare workers having contracted the virus or self-isolating because of a suspicion they may have it.

The respiratory assistants at Torbay and South Devon will be unpaid, according to the Health Service Journal, which first reported their recruitment. The Guardian understands they were undergoing training via Zoom on Thursday. They will not be making decisions about triage, intubation or withdrawal of medical treatment, the trust confirmed.

A spokesperson said: “We have received many offers of voluntary help from veterinary staff who have valuable skills that can be used to support frontline staff who are dealing with respiratory problems.”

A job advert for bedside support workers at Hampshire trust, whose recruitment drive was first reported by Vet Times, says that successful applicants will be paid between £17,000 and £42,000, with vets, veterinary surgeons and dentists in a higher salary band than veterinary or dental nurses.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “Following a number of offers of help from skilled professionals working outside the NHS, such as vets and dentists, we have developed a bespoke role called a bedside support worker.

“This is a role we have created in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which will support our brilliant staff in critical care and on medical wards, who are all working tirelessly to respond to this unprecedented challenge.

“Patient care remains our top priority, and only those who are assessed to have the appropriate transferable skills, education and training will temporarily join our team.”

Vets have been contributing to the crisis effort in other ways. On Thursday, Willow Farm vets, a team that works across northern England, said it had donated 4,000 protective gowns, amid concerns about a shortage of personal protective equipment for hospital staff. It followed VetPartners, based in York, which said on Monday that it was donating masks, aprons, gloves and ventilators to the health service.

Dr Rachel Dean, director of clinical research and excellence in practice at VetPartners, said some ventilators used on animals were the same as those used on humans, particularly on children.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons issued advice to its members on Wednesday about how they could best help during the Covid-19 pandemic, recommending that they consider assisting the livestock production, meat hygiene and food import/export industries before volunteering with the NHS.

The college’s registrar, Eleanor Ferguson, said: “If local NHS trusts do choose to employ veterinary professionals to undertake roles that are not reserved by law to licensed doctors, nurses or other regulated professionals, they must be satisfied that the individual has the skills and competencies to do that role.

“However, any veterinary professionals employed in these roles should not misrepresent their position to patients and must be careful not to hold themselves out as a licensed medical doctor or nurse.”

On message: The clear mantra from politicians

Josh Halliday, Guardian 10 April

The importance of staying at home and not making unnecessary journeys, including to older relatives, has been hammered home since the Covid-19 outbreak began.

Government ministers including Robert Jenrick have taken to the airwaves every day for weeks to urge the public to #StayHomeSaveLives, as the communities secretary put it in a tweet on Wednesday.

However, Jenrick travelled to visit his parents at the weekend, 40 miles from his own home. He said he went to drop off food and medicines. But that explanation is bound to come under scrutiny – given his own public utterances, which have included repeated pleas for people to turn to local communities to provide this kind of support.

The disclosure also comes just days after Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, resigned following the revelation that she had twice visited her holiday home in Earlsferry, Fife, and been to the local beach during the lockdown. Calderwood, who had been the public face of the “stay at home” mantra in Scotland, apologised for the breach before being asked to resign by the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

The government’s instructions could not be clearer: “Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home); if you go out, stay two metres away from other people at all times; wash your hands as soon as you get home.”

Crucially, they add: “Do not meet others, even friends or family. You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms’

Regarding relatives, the instructions say: “You should not be visiting family members who do not live in your home. You should keep, in touch using phone or video calls.”

The document adds that if they are elderly or vulnerable “you may leave your house to help them, for example, by dropping shopping or medication at their door”. It is understood that Jenrick’s parents have had support from members of the local community.

The lockdown was introduced to stop the spread of the disease. It is designed to shield those who are most vulnerable, such as older people and those with underlying health issues.

Senior police officers have backed the warnings. Nottinghamshire police, whose patch covers Jenrick’s Newark seat, said this week: “We all need to contribute to the national effort to respond to coronavirus and reduce the spread of the disease. People need to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives.”

PS Owl understands that Robert Jenrick is not in Nottinghamshire at his Newark constituency, but at his luxurious second home in Herefordshire – perhaps he is contemplating how to spend is £10k special expenses?

Humbug

Do as I say, not as I do.

Robert Jenerick, the Communities Secretary, visits his parents and his second home in Herefordshire, during lockdown. His constituency is in Newark.

Does he live on the same planet as the rest of us? Obviously not.

How long he stays in post before resigning will be a good test of how functional this government is with Boris Johnson now starting the early phase of his recovery.

David Churchill www.dailymail.co.uk

A cabinet minister has broken the lockdown rules twice, it emerged last night.

Robert Jenrick, a key player in the Government’s response to coronavirus, travelled 150 miles from London to his £1.1million second home in Herefordshire, where he is now living with his family.

He was also seen visiting his parents in Shropshire at the weekend, despite urging others to stay at home for ‘all bar the most essential activities’.

A source close to him defended the trip, saying he went to deliver food and medication and did not enter the house. 

Mr Jenrick moved  his family from London to his Grade I-listed Herefordshire mansion before the lockdown. He then delivered food and medicine to his parents in Shropshire 

The Communities Secretary moved to his Grade I-listed Herefordshire mansion after travel to second homes was banned. He told the Mail that he and his wife and their three young children, consider the Herefordshire property to be the family home.

He owns a £2.5million townhouse less than a mile from the Houses of Parliament and rents a property in his Newark constituency, which he bills taxpayers £2,000 a month for.

On March 23 new instructions were issued warning people to remain at their primary residence and not visit second homes ‘whether for isolation purposes or holidays’.

It added: ‘People should remain in their primary residence. Not taking these steps puts additional pressure on communities and services that are already at risk.’

Mr Jenrick gave a press conference in Downing Street on March 29, at which he updated the nation on the latest virus advice, before travelling to his Herefordshire property, where he has given several media interviews via video link.

Last night a Government source branded his behaviour ‘idiotic’.

However, another No 10 insider said he had given ‘a full account’ of himself, adding: ‘We are backing him.’

Steve Reed MP, Labour’s new communities spokesman, said: ‘It’s vitally important that ministers follow the rules they are setting for everybody else. MPs need to set an example to everyone about the importance of not moving around the country and if Robert Jenrick can’t provide a very good explanation as to why these trips were necessary then he needs to consider his position.’

Mr Jenrick insisted Eye Manor in Herefordshire, built by an 18th century slave trader, is seen as the family home, rather than their house in Westminster, despite needing to be there most of the week for his work. And speaking to the Mail on Sunday in 2014 ahead of winning his Newark seat, he claimed the couple were ‘almost sure’ they would sell Eye Manor and move to his constituency.

Explaining his decision last night, he told the Mail: ‘My house in Herefordshire is the place I, my wife and my young children consider to be our family home and my family were there before any restrictions on travel were announced.

‘I have been working in London on ministerial duties, putting in place the system to shield the group most vulnerable to coronavirus and organising the response at a local level. Once I was able to work from home it was right that I went home to do so and be with my wife and also help care for my three young children. By staying at home, we protect the NHS and help save lives. I will be staying at my family home until Government advice changes or if I am needed in person in Westminster before the parliamentary session resumes after the Easter recess.’

Mr Jenrick’s American wife, Michal Berkner, is a partner at City law firm Cooley LLP.

Last night the Guardian reported a witness saw Mr Jenrick in the front garden of his parents, who are 79 and 69, at the weekend. It is about an hour’s drive north from his Herefordshire home, which he bought in 2009. The Friday before he visited his parents he tweeted: ‘If you are considering going out this weekend, please don’t, unless it’s for work (where you cannot work from home), health reasons, food shopping or exercise. We need to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.’

Writing in the Mail on Sunday last month, Mr Jenrick warned that Britons must ‘make big sacrifices – especially today, on Mother’s Day’.

However, days before the lockdown was announced, Mr Jenrick and his family moved to his Grade 1-listed mansion near the parish church of St Peter & St Paul in Eye, Herefordshire

He added: ‘It’s so important that we speak to our loved ones as much as we can – whether that’s FaceTime or a phone call.

‘But for now, we must practise social distancing in order to tackle the spread of the virus. We need to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.’

Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, was forced to resign at the weekend after coming under fire for breaking rules by visiting her second home twice.

Mr Raab yesterday acknowledged the measures were ‘taking their toll’.

‘There are going to be lots of people who would normally be planning a family get together or just getting out in the sunshine,’ he added.

In the course of a few weeks we have gone from a “containment” strategy where an attempt was made to trace all Covid-19 cases to “mitigation” and then “suppression” . The containment phase was the only one with wide scale testing but it didn’t last long. In subsequent phases individuals exhibiting symptoms were told to self isolate.

As Owl understands it, in these phases, neither GPs nor NHS 111 (if you could get through) took any records of who thought they may have the virus. There are two obvious consequences: there is no one checking on patients to advise them, as Boris Johnson was, when to go to hospital (deterioration can be very rapid); and we haven’t a clue on how many people exhibited symptoms. 

Owl has more than a sneaking suspicion that resource constraints played a large part in what otherwise seems an inexplicable decision (not enough testing kits and not enough NHS 111 staff). Confused chains of command may also have contributed. It doesn’t look very well organised, remembering we had a two week start over most of Europe.

The Covid-19 tracker app tries to fill this vacuum. Here are more results.

(The tracker app is now being rolled out in the USA, another country that desperately needs data on the Covid-19 transmission.) 

www.expressandstar.com 

Researchers at King’s College London said there had been a drop in people reporting symptoms since April 1.

Researchers believe that the coronavirus lockdown is working as data from a tracker app suggests that the number of people aged 20-69 who are reporting Covid-19 symptoms has fallen from 1.9 million to 1.4 million across the UK.

The drop, by around 500,000 people since April 1, is indicated in analysis of data from the Covid Symptom Tracker app, which is used by more than two million people.

Contributors can track their daily health on the specially created app, which is also being used by healthcare and hospital workers nationwide.

The researchers behind the app, which was developed by a team at King’s College London, said their latest figures suggest that staying home is having a big impact on the spread of the virus in the UK.

Even though hospital admissions and deaths are still on the rise, we hope that these figures offer a much needed light at the end of the tunnel

Prof Tim Spector

They say the drop in new symptoms indicates that although the number of hospital admissions and deaths from Covid-19 are currently rising, they should start to fall in about two weeks’ time provided social distancing continues.

The team believes the two-week lag is caused by the delay between symptoms starting and becoming very severe.

Lead researcher, Professor Tim Spector from King’s College London, said: “It is really encouraging to see that the rate of new symptoms being reported is beginning to fall.

“Even though hospital admissions and deaths are still on the rise, we hope that these figures offer a much needed light at the end of the tunnel.

“We have been totally blown away by the public’s response to the app.

“On the first day we saw one million members of the public download it making it one of the most successful first days for an app ever, and already probably the UK’s largest citizen science project.

“The altruism of the UK public combined with modern technology is allowing us to rapidly collect huge amounts of invaluable data to help us better understand this deadly virus.”

Researchers say that their data concurs with what has been reported by NHS Digital, based on much smaller numbers.

This shows a decline in the number of calls to NHS 111 by people with Covid-19 symptoms since March 22.

While symptoms have been decreasing nationally, researchers say that their data shows that in all areas there are still many people with active symptoms.

The data also shows that individual areas vary.

Most of the country’s larger cities like London, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Liverpool continue to have very high levels of symptoms in the community, even this far into lockdown. South Wales is another hotspot.

There are significantly higher levels of symptoms across the Midlands, the North of England and southern Scotland than in the south-west of England.

The Covid Symptom Tracker app was developed by a King’s College London team in association with the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and healthcare start-up ZOE Global Limited.

To download the app, and to view an interactive map showing the suggested distribution of Covid-19 in your area, see covid.joinzoe.com

The move by the expenses watchdog has been described as ‘crude’ by critics amid concerns that the updated system and extra cash could be open to abuse.

Parliamentary staffers hit back at the criticism, saying it enabled them to work from home during the crisis.

Owl can’t see how this differs from the way that MPs work in their constituencies during week ends and during recesses.

www.thesun.co.uk

Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, hit out at the decision and said: “It seems to me a very crude approach.

“I think the public may be slightly puzzled as to why what looks like a generous payment of this nature has been made without first doing a bit more research into what the actual costs are.”

And James Roberts, political director of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “While it’s reasonable for MPs’ staff to have access to the equipment they need to work from home during this crisis, politicians should take care to use the cash properly and avoid it being seen as a personal equipment slush fund.”

But parliamentary staffers hit back at the criticism, saying it enabled them to work from home during the crisis.

Alice Hopkins, a Conservative Parliamentary worker tweeted: “MPs & staff based in Westminster need Parliament IT equipment to be able to do their work securely from home.”

She added that “not a penny will go to MPs” but the backlash was filling staffers’ inboxes with “ill informed emails distracting us from emergency casework.”

She added: “My bosses & colleagues are working round the clock everyday to help 100s of constituents getting in touch.

“The people who are furious that we can work securely at home will also expect immediate help if they asked.”

The guidance, published last month, reads: “This is an uncertain and challenging time. Ipsa is committed to supporting MPs and their staff to carry on with their work as far as possible.”

In a letter to MPs, Richard Lloyd, the interim chairman of Ipsa, wrote: “We have agreed a series of immediate measures that we hope will provide you with the resources and flexibility to concentrate on your parliamentary duties and support your staff.”

Minister James Cleverly added after the story that he would “like to publicly thank my team (and all the others too) for the work that they are doing.

“I know they aren’t the only ones having a tough time but we MPs couldn’t help our constituents properly without them.

“They are helping and working with worried, often vulnerable people on my behalf, who are themselves dealing with unprecedented situations. They are researching, collating, and passing on advice and guidance in a fast changing environment.

“The volume of work has, understandably, increased over the last few weeks and they are working through it with all the additional challenges of working remotely.

“If things are a bit slower than usual, please bear with us as we navigate these uncharted waters. So to my team I say “thank you”.”

Labour staffer Amelia-Rose Tighe added: “I’ve had to procure secure laptops for staff to work at home.

“We have never had as many vulnerable people contact us needing help.

“Anyone bashing this- are you expecting staff to travel to work to help constituents or should we just ignore them?

“This money does NOT go in MPs pockets as the headline suggests, it goes into a budget to be spent on running an office. Other businesses are providing laptops for workers to work from home, why should MPs be made to refuse this?”

MPs have been offered an extra £10,000 each to support them while they work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, the poor darlings. The reason, during a national crisis when so many are losing their livelihoods, jobs, or on furlough, defeats Owl. No wonder Neil Parish thought he ought “earn his keep” by saying something even if it was all platitudes. 

Emanuele Midolo, Esther Webber  www.thetimes.co.uk 

The extra budget can be used to buy equipment such as laptops and printers for MPs and their staff, or to cover additional electricity, heating and phone bills. The money, which comes on top of the existing office budget of about £26,000 a year per MP, will be available until March.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), the expenses regulator, also relaxed rules on the evidence MPs must provide and suspended the 90-day window for claims.

The credit limit on MPs’ payment cards has been increased to £10,000, and they can now spend up to £5,000 in a single transaction.

One MP said he expected that the money would mostly be used to assist staff, as the majority of MPs would already have home offices.

However, there is nothing in the rules to prevent MPs claiming it for themselves.

Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, questioned the decision. “It seems to me a very crude approach [from Ipsa],” he said. “I think the public may be slightly puzzled as to why what looks like a generous payment of this nature has been made without first doing a bit more research into what the actual costs are.”

Several researchers contacted by The Times were unaware of the funding.

The guidance, published last month, reads: “This is an uncertain and challenging time. Ipsa is committed to supporting MPs and their staff to carry on with their work as far as possible.”

In a letter to MPs, Richard Lloyd, the interim chairman of Ipsa, wrote: “We have agreed a series of immediate measures that we hope will provide you with the resources and flexibility to concentrate on your parliamentary duties and support your staff.”

James Roberts, political director of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which campaigns for lower public spending, said: “While it’s reasonable for MPs’ staff to have access to the equipment they need to work from home during this crisis, politicians should take care to use the cash properly and avoid it being seen as a personal equipment slush fund.”

The news follows the announcement last month of a £20 million increase in MPs’ staffing budgets. MPs received an extra £25,000 for their staff after a parliamentary review suggested that they were underpaid compared with workers in other sectors. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, said at the time that his staff were “struggling to cope”.

Ipsa was created in response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009, after which several rules were introduced to limit MPs’ claims. These included a ban on the purchase of second homes and on claims for home refurbishments. Last year, however, a Sunday Times investigation revealed that MPs claimed 22 per cent more in expenses than they did in 2009. In 2017-18, the total claimed by MPs rose to a record £116 million.

At last Neil Parish breaks radio silence to say – very little.

In these unusual and fast moving times, Owl likes to consider if  “those in authority” are acting as “Leaders or Followers” 

Alas, Owl finds few Leaders.

Chris Carson  www.midweekherald.co.uk 

Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish, says Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s battle with cornavirus shows the disease does not discriminate.

Mr Parish, whose consituency also includes Axminster, Seaton and Colyton, told The Midweek Herald today: “The PM is a larger than life character, full of energy and fighting spirit.

“My thoughts are with him and his family as he battles coronavirus, personally, and for the nation.

“It shows this virus does not discriminate.

“There is no cure – and we must stop the spread urgently to protect as many people as possible.

“As the weather improves, please do not lose sight of the horror that our NHS, social care workers, charity and community groups are facing on the frontline.

“Stay at home, minimise contact, wash your hands and follow government guidance to get us through this as quickly as possible.

“I know local and national government are working around the clock to provide support.

“If you require help or advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch.”

This report from radioexe starts with the same report of Devon County’s response, reported by Owl yesterday, but adds further information. The post below starts from report on what Independent group leader Cllr Frank Biederman said and then continues.

Council tells holidaymakers to stay away

www.radioexe.co.uk 

Independent group leader Cllr Frank Biederman said: “We need the Government to introduce huge fines for people who flout the regulations and we really need to emphasise that we are closed. The NHS can’t care for visitors as well as our own residents.

“The vast majority of our tourism businesses are closed and are taking a big financial hit for the benefit of the community but we need to crack down on those who refuse to do so.”

He added that any business who were still allowing holidaymakers to make bookings were a ‘disgrace’.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Skills, Cllr Rufus Gilbert, said that Trading Standards had done a test with Bookings.com and sampled 25 per cent of businesses on their website and phoned them, and all of them said they were not accepting booking.

But he added: “With Airbnb, we have had no such assurances. We have written to them but are not expecting a reply. We will do everything that we can, but just because some businesses are advertising online, it doesn’t mean that they are taking bookings.”

Cllr Paul Crabb though said he had gone onto the Airbnb and would have been able to book a detached villa for 13 guests in Ilfracombe for next week, which showed that not everyone was obeying the rules.

The district councils have the responsibility to close down any businesses that are open illegally.

It comes as the leaders of both South Hams and West Devon councils have written an open letter pleading with second home owners not to visit this Easter.

The open letter, written by Cllr Judy Pearce and Cllr Neil Jory, has the support of Cornwall Council, East Devon District Council, Mid Devon District Council, North Devon District Council, Teignbridge District Council and Torridge District Council.

It explains that while they value their contribution they make to local communities and the tourism economy, they are pleading with them to stay away as by travelling to their second home, they are putting the local population at risk.

As of Wednesday morning, across the Devon County Council administrative area, there had only been 236 cases positive COVID-19 cases, with a further 57 in Torbay and 102 in Plymouth. In total, 53 people in Devon have died in hospitals with coronavirus.

Residents in Devon are being asked to shop any businesses they think are trading illegally during the coronavirus lockdown. 

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk 

Trading Standards bosses in the county are aiming to crack down on any firms flouting the Government guidelines over Easter.

Whitehall last month ordered hospitality businesses to close and said that people should stay at home -with only ‘essential’ travel allowed.

With very few exceptions, all hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, holiday rentals, campsites and boarding houses should be closed for commercial use until further notice.

Additionally, restaurants, pubs, wine bars, cafes, canteens and other food and drink establishments must also close unless they are providing takeaway or delivery-only services.

Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards is reminding owners of guest houses, campsites and restaurants to remain closed to help combat coronavirus.

And it had issued a message to the public that – if you think a business is open illegally – it can be reported by email to tradingstandards@devon.gov.uk

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council (DCC) cabinet member with responsibility for Trading Standards, the economy and Visit Devon, said: “We understand that Easter is traditionally seen as the start of the holiday season for many businesses.

“However, as a country we all need to do everything we can to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

“We know that most businesses are abiding with the new rules. However, where businesses choose to ignore the Government, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.

“We recognise that the hospitality industry is facing real challenges in these uncertain times and we will continue to provide support for you via the Heart of South West Growth Hub.”

A DCC spokesman added: “Holidaymakers are also reminded that visiting the WestCountry for leisure is not regarded as essential travel and they risk receiving a fine from the police.”

Cornish residents have reported 650 holiday lets and second homeowners to the council in the past five days as people sneak into the county for the Easter weekend.

Will Humphries, Southwest Correspondent www.thetimes.co.uk

The council and Devon and Cornwall police are increasing their efforts to deter weekenders as police officers stop cars, caravans and motorhomes on the M5, A30 and at service stations and car parks at beauty spots. Visitors have been stopped on coastal paths in St Mawes, Rock and Padstow.

Rob Nolan, Cornwall council’s cabinet member for environment and public protection, said that most holiday accommodation owners had stopped trading but not all. Tourists using them have been told to return home.

“The police are relying on unnecessary travel to stop the second homeowners. They are going to ramp it up at the weekend,” Mr Nolan said. “Locals are very anxious about people moving in next door to them.”

The council asked for reports of rule breakers last Friday and by yesterday had received 650 reports, with most about Airbnb rentals.

“Airbnb won’t close their listings,” Mr Nolan said. “They are a very difficult company to get hold of.”

Malcolm Bell, chief executive of Visit Cornwall, said that it was “very disappointing that some were found to be flouting the orders of the government. I would ask the public to keep vigilant and report any further properties that they suspect may be defying the law.”

Gordon Ramsay and his family have also been the subject of local anger after they arrived at their house in Trebetherick on March 20, before the lockdown was imposed.

The Ramsay family are regular visitors and their eldest son lives there permanently, according to a family friend.

People in Devon and on Exmoor have also reported an influx since the lockdown was issued.

Ian Liddell-Grainger, the MP for Bridgwater & West Somerset, said he had been told of second homeowners asking their cleaners on Exmoor to prepare houses for their arrival.

“Our cottage hospitals won’t be able to cope if there is an outbreak here and the nearest large hospital is in Taunton. We don’t have the resources for these people coming here,” he said.

One Exmoor villager said that two doctors from London had moved into their second home to self-isolate near Dulverton but then drove back to the capital because they forgot their breadmaker, before returning again.

A Times reader who moved from London to her Gloucestershire second home a month ago, before the imposition of social distancing, said she was questioned by two police officers on her doorstep on Monday after local residents reported that she had “recently arrived”.

She was asked to provide evidence of living there before the lockdown and it was only thanks to her daughter having a receipt from a taxi taken from London that the officers were satisfied and left.

“We came down with supplies because no one was taking the situation seriously and we didn’t leave the house for more than two weeks,” she said.

Airbnb said it was working on measures to “help everyone follow government guidance and keep people safe” and added it had blocked spare rooms and shared spaces being advertised in the UK for the emergency period and had taken away the “instant book” feature so that guests have to request a booking from a host.

District council bosses have made an extra £25,000 available to boost projects supporting community coronavirus efforts in East Devon.

East Devon Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

The authority is distributing the cash through the Covid-19 Prompt Action Fund small grants scheme.

Run by Devon County Council (DCC), the initiative can quickly award up to £499 to community-led efforts.

These can include:

• Safe deliveries of essential goods and services to those who are vulnerable, such as foods and medicines;
• Support for accessing online information and services;
• Virtual support groups to help people to stay connected and informed and to maintain and support mental health and wellbeing;
• Transport-related initiatives that support safe community responses to the outbreak.

Applications are accepted from constituted and not-for-private-profit Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector groups and organisations, town and parish councils, charities or businesses, or a combination of such groups working together.

Organisations can apply multiple times for different projects.

Non-constituted groups without their own, separate bank account, small local businesses and individuals can also apply. However, they will need to do so with the support of an accountable constituted organisation acting on their behalf either as guarantor or as the holder of the funding.

Because the two councils are working together, groups only have to deal with one lot of paperwork, making it much easier and quicker for them to apply.

It also saves the authorities both running the same grants process, meaning that they have more resources to work on other things to help people and communities.

Cllr Ian Thomas, chairman of East Devon District Council’s community grants panel said: “Our voluntary and community organisations, together with town and parish councils, form the bedrock of East Devon’s drive to ensure that all our vulnerable residents are properly shielded and supported in these challenging times.

“We should be proud of and grateful for the dedication of each and everyone involved.

“I am pleased that we have been able to re-allocate £25,000 funding to further help them continue their essential work through many more support opportunities, by adding our own contribution to that from Devon County Council.”

Councillor Roger Croad, DCC’s cabinet member for communities, said: “At extremely challenging times like this, it is important that we all work together to support our residents, especially the most vulnerable.

“I’m particularly pleased that East Devon District Council are joining the COVID-19 Prompt Action Fund which has received in excess of 260 applications from organisations across the county already, after opening just over two weeks ago.

“This funding will help volunteer groups in Devon continue their vital work to tackle the impacts of the coronavirus in their communities and offer support to those in need.”

Find out more and apply here.

From Transition Exeter:

The application for a new Gas-fired ‘Peaking’ Plant, refused by East Devon District Council because of its incompatibility with their Climate Emergency Declaration is going to appeal.  Members of the the public can make representations till April 21st.

The Applicant is Liverton Business Park 2011 (Clinton Devon Estates Ltd), who also owns the solar park nearby. This appeal could be a test case for the construction of these small local back-up, gas power stations, which the Government appears to be encouraging. There is a danger that they will be popping up all over and lead to a whole new generation of gas plants with continued carbon emissions, so we need to prevent a network of such schemes.  Also, subsidised and encouraged through tender exercises opened up by the National Grid, they are probably very commercially lucrative (but of course much of that information would be subject to commercial confidentiality).

The justification for the proposal is mainly based on the plant functioning as a backup facility, to fill the gap in energy supplies when renewables are not generating sufficiently, and thus providing energy security and contributing to the transition to renewables. Some think this is stretching the case very thin, when the Centre for Alternative Technology  argues that 100% renewable energy could supply the grid every hour of the day and night.

The deadline for Representations to the Planning Inspector is 21 April. Many in Exmouth and beyond would be grateful for whatever help you can manage, from a short representation to more technical energy and planning arguments. With respect to pressing for an Inquiry, a reasonable quick point would be that you are very concerned about climate change and have welcomed the local declarations of climate and ecological emergency but are very worried that this scheme conflicts with the local commitments (that would include Devon as a whole). You would feel that the complex issues need airing in a open Inquiry. You need to use your own words.

Oddly, the owner of the Liverton Business Park is Clinton Devon Estates, whose home page bears the large slogan  ‘Doing Today what is Right for Tomorrow’ [Owl thinks it’s time this was changed to “Doing Today what is Right for Clinton’s Business” ]

More information is available from gillwestcott@gmail.com or on the Transition Exeter website www.transitionexeter.org.uk (It isn’t yet but could be soon)

At last we hear from Leader of DCC, John Hart – Owl (and Owl makes no apology for pointing out that the speed of Covid-19 transmission exposes those who make the wrong call and even those who make a late call in a matter of days, it doesn’t wait until you have moved on. These are not normal times, Covid-19 is unforgiving).

Leader John Hart said he was planning to meet the bosses and chief executives of all Devon’s district councils to discuss co-ordinated enforcement action against holiday providers who continue to take bookings.

The authority this afternoon (Wednesday) issued an all-party message for visitors to ‘stay away from the South West’ ahead of the Easter weekend.

East Devon Reporter  eastdevonnews.co.uk

County council bosses want tougher penalties for people flouting coronavirus lockdown rules – after telling holidaymakers and second home owners: “Devon is closed.” 

The authority this afternoon (Wednesday) issued an all-party message for visitors to ‘stay away from the South West’ ahead of the Easter weekend.

Leader John Hart said he was planning to meet the bosses and chief executives of all Devon’s district councils to discuss co-ordinated enforcement action against holiday providers who continue to take bookings.

“As we head to Easter, we want to send a very clear message to holidaymakers and second home owners,” said Mr Hart.

“Devon and the South West are closed. We will welcome you with open arms when this is all over, but right now please stay away.

“We currently have low coronavirus infection rates in the South West, but, if you come here, you stand a chance of bringing it with you and we do not want it under any circumstances.

“We want the message to go out loud and clear and we want our MPs to stop those organisations which are still advertising holidays here.”

Labour leader Rob Hannaford added: “It’s highly damaging and irresponsible for people to be coming to the South West to holiday accommodation or second homes and we want more police spot checks on our borders.

“We have a lot of elderly people here who are most susceptible. We are at the bottom of the regional tables for coronavirus infection and we want it to stay that way.”

Liberal Democrat leader Alan Connett said: “We want people to come here when this is all over but for now the message is clear: stay home and stay safe.”

Independent group leader Frank Biederman added: “We need the Government to introduce huge fines for people who flout the regulations and we really need to emphasise that we are closed. The NHS can’t care for visitors as well as our own residents.

“The vast majority of our tourism businesses are closed and are taking a big financial hit for the benefit of the community but we need to crack down on those who refuse to do so.”

Three people have been arrested following a crash involving a convoy of caravans on the M5 into Devon and Cornwall this afternoon.

Howard Lloyd  www.devonlive.com

The incident, near Tiverton, sparked two miles of queuing traffic at around 1.30pm – mainly HGVs delivering goods in the South West.

Two lanes were blocked and a dog was loose.

An eyewitness described the moment a caravan lost control and crashed into a lorry before a dog inside escaped into oncoming traffic.

Paul Martin, a builder from Taunton, was just outside Tiverton in his van following what he described as a ‘convoy of caravans’ which he believed to be travellers heading towards Exeter.

He claims one of the caravans collided with a lorry before hitting the central reservation – an accident which saw two of the lanes closed off.

“They were very lucky to escape with their lives,” Paul said. “It could have been so much worse.

“I was following one of the caravans – I think they were travellers heading towards Exeter – and one of them was behind a Toolstation lorry.

“It pulled out to overtake but hit the side of the lorry.

“When that happened, it split the caravan open and a dog bounded out. I managed to catch the dog and put him back in the car.

“The dog then managed to escape again and ran onto the other carriageway into oncoming traffic but I managed to catch it again.

“It could have been a lot worse. If they had gone over the central reservation when they crashed or someone had swerved to avoid the dog on the other carriageway, it could have been really nasty.”

Devon and Cornwall Police have since confirmed that three people have been arrested and are in custody.

“We attended a RTC on the M5 Southbound at 13:37. 3 people have been arrested for various offences and are being held in Exeter custody.

“Two stolen vehicles also seized,” the force said.

Paul spent about 25 minutes at the scene blocking off two of the lanes with his van to ensure no traffic hit the damaged vehicles.

He said there was not much traffic on the motorway due to the ongoing travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The incident sparked a furious reaction, with people angry that caravans were being allowed to travel on the motorway without being stopped.