Lane assistant

GREECE is aiming to welcome tourists from the UK in ten weeks’ time in what would be a “dovetailing” of plans to open up travel between the two countries. The Greek tourism minister Haris Theocharis praised the British prime minister’s unveiling of a roadmap out of lockdown, saying it provided the clarity for travel plans to finally be made. He said: “We’ll try to dovetail with the plan that has been announced in the UK, a May 17 date has been announced there a nd we want to be certain to be ready by then and more generally support [the UK’s] opening.” Athens has been pushing for vaccine passports to be endorsed by the EU, saying certificates proving the Covid-status of  travellers will help accelerate mass tourism. He added: “ The roadmap was a very, very good move by the UK government … planning is a pre-requisite for the travel industry, there are so many things we have missed and this year it seems for many people to be a necessity to go on vacation.” The Greek … [Read more...] about Greece aims to welcome Brit tourists in 10 weeks – with ‘fast-track vaccinated lanes’ at airports and cheap rapid tests

An investigation has been launched at Westminster into smart motorways in response to growing safety concerns. The inquiry by the Commons' Transport Select Committee will also examine the impact of the controversial traffic management system on tackling congestion. Smart motorways involve using the hard shoulder of the multi-lane carriageway for vehicles to increase capacity. However, worries have been mounting over the danger they pose . Earlier this month, a coroner investigating the death of 62-year-old grandmother Nargis Begum on a section of smart motorway on the M1 in South Yorkshire, referred Highways England to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider if corporate manslaughter charges were appropriate. Advertisement And last month, a Sheffield coroner ruled that smart motorways "present an ongoing risk of future deaths". More from Politics Alex Salmond: Latest updates as former first minister gives evidence on claims … [Read more...] about Smart motorways: Inquiry launched by MPs into controversial highways amid safety fears

THE POLICE watchdog has ordered forces to explain why black and ethnic minorities are subjected to more stop and searches than whites. Police were also urged to consider scrapping stops for possession of drugs because they are said to contribute to the racial disparity. A report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the disproportionate use of police powers risks losing trust of communities. The watchdog highlighted the death of George Floyd in the US as an example of the potential fall-out when police interaction with ethnic minorities goes wrong. Black people are almost nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than whites, according to latest Home Office data for 2019/20. They are also over 5.5 times more likely to have force used on them by cops than white people, have eight times more chance of being handcuffed and a nine-fold prospect of having a Taser drawn on them. Stop and search has been … [Read more...] about Police watchdog orders forces to explain why black and ethnic minorities are subjected to more stop and searches

THE partial remains of a business woman accused of stealing millions from her clients have been found. Melissa Caddick's rotting foot was found washed up on a remote beach, three months after she disappeared from her Sydney mansion. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission says stole at least £7.3 million in invested funds from over 60 clients, including family and friends, but the figure has been put as high as £14 million. She vanished early on 12 November last year, a day after cops raided her home in the wealthy suburb of Dover Heights and DNA testing matched the foot to Caddick. Police had found no trace of until last week when campers spotted a running shoe containing a decomposed foot on a beach 250 miles south of Sydney. New South Wales Police assistant commissioner Mick Willing said: "It remains a mystery as to when and how she came into the water. At this point we can't rule out anything. “We have kept an open mind, however given the … [Read more...] about Mystery as missing female fraudster’s ROTTING FOOT is found on beach after ‘she stole millions from clients’

Welcome to HMS Bubble, where the pandemic meant the Queen and Prince Philip were forced to live under the same roof, with just a handful of chefs, footmen, maids, housekeepers, clock-winders and 24-hour police security for company. The staff were bubbled, kept apart from their families, and regularly tested for coronavirus, as Her Majesty took part in Zoom calls someone else had set up for her, did her paperwork at the same desk she's sat at for 69 years, and was able to keep Boris Johnson at arm's length with a weekly phone call. Leave this working-from-castle luxury behind, now, and step into the home of a teacher, 35 and a little overweight, as she tries to teach 30 children in a Google hangout using a broadband system dependent on 100-year-old telephone lines. Consider the extra hours she has worked unpaid, the vulnerable pupils whose problems have kept her awake at night, and fears for her own health as the government orders her back to school with perhaps 300 walking … [Read more...] about Why vaccinate the Queen but deny a priority jab to teachers and police officers?