Top story: Celebrities to push vaccine take-up
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories you need to get up to speed this morning.
Boris Johnson will today set out an impact assessment of coronavirus restrictions in an effort to convince his backbenchers to support the introduction of a new tier system in a crucial Commons vote tomorrow. The prime minister has written to the Covid Recovery Group of MPs to allay concerns about the economic impact of the new tier restrictions structure planned for England when the national lockdown ends this week, telling them that he believes the “worst is over”. He will point to data showing that infections in England have fallen by a third during the lockdown, with new cases in the north-west halving. However, dozens of MPs are still expected to abstain or vote against the measures, which will see 99% of the population placed under the top two tiers of restrictions. In order to prepare the country for mass vaccination against Covid-19, the NHS is planning to enlist “sensible” celebrities to make the case for having the jab amid concerns of a low take-up. Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United footballer who has championed the extension of free school meals in holiday time, could be one of the faces of the campaign, along with members of the royal family.
In the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious diseases expert, warned that Americans faced “surge upon surge” of new cases in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday. More than 4 million Americans contracted Covid in November. In Australia, food waste has skyrocketed thanks to pandemic-related panic buying, a report claims, with households throwing away 13% of their food. Follow all the overnight developments in the pandemic at our live blog here.
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Sunak questions – The wife of the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, owns 5% of a restaurant business that funnelled investments through the tax haven of Mauritius, in a structure that could allow its backers to avoid taxes in India. International Market Management is hoping to build a chain of dozens of restaurants across India via franchise agreements with Jamie Oliver and the American fast food brand Wendy’s. The involvement of Akshata Murty has emerged from an investigation by the Guardian into a range of financial assets held by Sunak and his close family, many of which have not been declared in the official register of ministers’ interests. The government ethics watchdog has been asked to assess whether Sunak has breached the ministerial code.
Pastures new – Farming in England faces its biggest shake-up in 50 years under plans laid out by the government today as it prepares for post-Brexit agricultural policy. The £1.6bn subsidy farmers receive every year for simply owning land will be phased out by 2028, with the funds used instead to pay them to restore wild habitats, create new woodlands, boost soils and cut pesticide use. The wealthiest landowners will face the sharpest cuts, starting with 25% in 2021.
Arcadia threat – Sir Philip Green, boss of the Arcadia retail empire, has been urged by MPs to dip into his personal fortune to plug a gap in the company’s pension fund ahead of the group’s expected collapse into administration. The group that includes high street fixtures such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Burton is expected to enter administration today after the failure to secure a rescue deal at the weekend. The collapse of the business, with the potential loss of 13,000 jobs, would be the biggest corporate failure of the pandemic and a huge personal blow for Green, one of Britain’s most controversial business chiefs.
Pyrenees search – Police are searching the French Pyrenees for a British woman who has gone missing after going for a solo hike in the mountaisn along the Spanish border. Esther Dingley, 37, who has been travelling around the continent for six years with her partner, Dan Colegate, was last heard from a week ago. Colegate had stayed in the French region of Gascony while she went on the trek. “I need her back. I can’t face the alternative,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
Major problem – US president-elect Joe Biden has broken his foot while playing with his dog. It was initially reported that Biden, who is 78, had only suffered a sprain after the incident on Saturday, but later tests revealed a fracture. The dog, a German shepherd called Major, was adopted by Biden and his wife in 2018. Despite the drama, Biden named an all-female media team as he prepares to receive his first presidential intelligence briefing later today. Kate Bedingfield, the communications director of Biden’s successful run for the White House, will be White House communications director, and Jen Psaki, a longtime Democratic spokeswoman, will be his press secretary. The outgoing president, Donald Trump, has lashed out at judges after another court setback in his legal attempts to reverse the election result.
Today in Focus podcast
Guardian US reporter Sam Levin has been speaking to Bounchan Keola, who is being detained by US immigration authorities and is facing deportation to Laos, a country he left when he was four, despite having risked his life to fight wildfires in California this year
The US firefighter facing deportation to Laos
Lunchtime read: Kerry Washington on Scandal and real politics
She hit the big time playing the high-powered political fixer Olivia Pope in Scandal. Kerry Washington tells Ellen E Jones about her real political activism on the campaign trail for Kamala Harris and her fellow Democrats, begging the question of what someone who lives and breathes politics is doing in Ryan Murphy’s musical The Prom.
Sport
Romain Grosjean’s remarkable escape from a violent, high-speed accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix, won by Lewis Hamilton, has been hailed as a testament to Formula One’s pursuit of safety. Daniel Ricciardo, the Renault driver, blasted the “Hollywood” coverage of the crash and said he was disgusted by Formula One showing endless replays while drivers were waiting for the race to restart. Edinson Cavani, who came on at the break, struck twice as Manchester United came from two goals down at half-time to win 3-2 at Southampton. But the Uruguayan could face a three-game ban if the FA deems that he used discriminatory or racist language in an Instagram story shared from his account after the match. José Mourinho said Tottenham were “just a pony” and not a horse in the Premier League title race despite his side moving back to the top of the table with a 0-0 at Chelsea. Striker Raúl Jiménez was conscious and responding to treatment by the time he reached hospital after a sickening collision with David Luiz during Wolves’ 2-1 win at Arsenal.
Dawid Malan returned to the scene of his first-class debut to help England claim a low-scoring four-wicket win over South Africa, sealing the Twenty20 series with one match to spare and further underlining his own value to the side. England’s Autumn Nations Cup final against France on Sunday is in danger of descending into farce after Les Bleus named a desperately depleted squad for the Twickenham showdown. Wales’ Nick Tompkins has apologised to supporters for the lack of attacking rugby in the tournament. Diego Maradona’s personal physician has denied responsibility for the former footballer’s death after police raided his home and surgery on Sunday, seizing laptops, medical records and mobile devices. And Papa Bouba Diop, the former Senegal midfielder who scored the first goal of the 2002 World Cup against France, has died at the age of 42.
Business
Telecoms firms have been told they must stop installing Huawei equipment in the UK’s 5G networks from next September. The digital secretary, Oliver Dowden, has set out a roadmap to remove what the government deems to be high-risk vendors such as the Chinese technology conglomerate ahead of the telecommunications (security) bill coming before parliament. The FTSE100 will open down around 0.3% this morning, according to futures trade. The pound is worth $1.334 and €1.114.
The papers
The Guardian leads with “NHS to use celebrities in drive to encourage Covid vaccine take-up” while the Telegraph takes a different Covid-related line – “Cash for restaurants and pubs to quell revolt”. The Express splashes on Boris Johnson’s latest attempts to rally the nation – “PM: ‘Unity and resolve’ will help beat virus” – and the Star reports how military intelligence officers will be deployed to counter anti-vaccine propaganda on social media. “Army to smash vaccine bandits”, it claims.
The Mail claims victory in its campaign to raise money for hospitals – “How you made Britain proud”– and the Mirror exhorts the nation to go on a spending spree: “Go shop for Britain”. The FT leads with “Brussels pitches sweeping reboot of US relations in post-Trump era”, while the Times plumps for the farming shakeup: “Brexit will transform our fields and farms”.
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