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25th June 2021
THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES
Worldwide cases of COVID-19 are at 179,960,300 with deaths totalling 3,899,016 globally as of 23rd June according to Worldometer. So far, 164,727,197 people have recovered from the virus. Sir Jeffery Donaldson has been confirmed as the new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after recently elected Edwin Poots resigned last week. Paul Givan’s position, as the newly elected First Minister of Northern Ireland, is seen to be at risk as many party officers call for his resignation.
A new tool, designed to help young people remove compromised images of themselves from online platforms, has been launched by the Internet Watch Foundation in partnership with Childline. The ‘Report, Remove’ tool is for any under 18s to use and requests are actioned within two hours for a UK site and within one day for international sites. For further information, advice and guidance please click here.
Some UK phones randomly gave off a short loud alarm on Tuesday 22nd June as the UK tested its emergency alert system. Between 1-2pm on Tuesday some Google Android users reported their phones setting off a noise with a brief message flashing up saying: ‘This is a mobile network operator test of the Emergency Alerts Service. You do not need to take any action. To find out more, search for gov.uk/alerts.’ The UK Government advised the emergency alert system will be used for sending alerts relating to life endangerment. A further test will be carried out on 29th June 2021.
Following the arrest last week of five executives from Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper ‘Apple Daily’ the newspaper has announced it has been forced to shut down and will publish its last circulation on Thursday 24th June. The arrestees were charged with ‘colluding with foreign or external forces to endanger national security’ alleging the newspaper published articles calling for sanctions against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
The Tokyo Olympics organisers have announced 10,000 local spectators will be allowed to attend the delayed 2020 Olympics held in Japan next month but singing and cheering has been banned. A 50% capacity audience has been agreed, however, this does not include sponsors and federation officials which could increase the capacity significantly particularly for the opening ceremony. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove announced on Tuesday 22nd of June a referendum on Scottish independence was unlikely before the next general election. After a pro-independence majority in the last Scottish elections in May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the referendum was a matter of ‘if and not when’. Mr Gove commented about the complexities of arranging a referendum during the pandemic advising: “It seems to me to be at best reckless, at worst folly, to try to move the conversation on to constitutional division when people expect us to be working together in order to deal with these challenges.”1. The next general election is scheduled to be held in May 2024. Following the election of new, hard line, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the US Justice Department has seized thirty-three websites they believed are linked to ‘Iranian disinformation efforts’. The DOJ has
claimed the websites were owned by US companies and ‘disguised as news organisations or media outlets’.2. The first of three reports to be released regarding the inquiry held to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, was released last week. The report heavily criticised 2 WORLD NEWS/RAS/25th June 2021
the security response and preparation at the event. The police, security provider Showsec and arena operator Security Guard Management Group (SGM) were scrutinised by Sir John Saunders, Chairman of the inquiry, who listed a catalogue of failures leading up to the explosion. To view the full report please click here.
BREXIT The EU is currently considering a request to extend the grace period on the sale of chilled meats in Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The UK is insisting the EU extend the grace period until October allowing time to explore other options than imposing tariffs on such goods.
The Home Office has announced EU citizens intending to stay in the UK will have 28 days to complete their application to remain. 28-day notices will be issued to the believed 400,000 applicants yet to submit their requests. 5.6 million people have already applied with the highest number of applicants so far coming from countries such as Poland and Romania.
ACTIVISM Three police officers were injured and 14 arrests made following a freedom march in central London on Monday 21st June. Protestors used tennis balls with ‘no digital ID’ written on them to throw over the Downing Street gates. Some aggressive protestors used the tennis balls to attack police officers. Please click here for SOP guidance on demonstrations Please click here to access our recent protest alert
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COVID – 19
The total confirmed UK COVID-19 cases as of Thursday 24th June is 4,684,572 with 128,048 deaths according to GOV.UK.
As of Thursday 24th June 43,656,327 people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination in the UK and 31,908,103 have received their second.
A new ‘variant of concern’, referred to as Delta Plus, has been identified in India. Dr Lance Pinto, Consultant Respirologist at Hinduja National Hospital, India, explained that the new ‘variant of concern’, referred to as Delta Plus has increased transmissibility, displayed stronger binding in receptors of lung cells and has a potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.
He explained: "We are quite concerned about the Delta plus variant, given that it has a mutation that was attributed to the Beta variant escaping the immunity offered by the Astra vaccine….there are reports that the variant escapes neutralisation with the antibody cocktail."3.
The Indian government has warned of a third wave expected imminently, this comes as reports suggest only 4% of their population have received their two doses of the vaccine. More than 60,000 fans will be in Wembley stadium for both the semi-final and final of Euro2020 UEFA has announced. This brings capacity to more than 75%. With officials and sponsors reportedly not needing to quarantine.
Useful Information Sources
UK wide – Public Health England Scotland – Scottish Government Northern Ireland – NISRA COVID-19 deaths in England & Wales – ONS COVID-19 Statistics – Worldometer – Johns Hopkins University
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INSIGHTS
Our Risk Advisory Service regularly publish articles and advisories covering a myriad of subjects. These publications can be found within the Risk Advisory Services section on the Wilson James website.
This report does not represent any political stance towards any of the activism groups mentioned below from Wilson James or its Client Partners. All Wilson James policies can be viewed on our internal IMS platform. https://internal.wilsonjames.co.uk/
CONCLUSIONS AND RECATIONS FROM G7 SUMMIT
OXFAM protestors at G7 Summit (Guardian 2021)
The 47th G7 Summit held in Carbis Bay, Cornwall on 11-13 June 2021 intended to address the following issues:
1. The global response to the Covid-19 pandemic; 2. Climate change; 3. The global approach to pandemics in general; 4. The equal, global distribution of vaccines; 5. The design of a global early warning system; 6. Global policies for future health emergencies and the reduction of trade barriers.
CONCLUDING STATEMENT FROM G7 SUMMIT
Following the conclusion of the summit, the leaders of the Group of Seven released a communique detailing the progress made. Please click here for the communique in full.
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HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF SUMMIT
Prioritising a unified front against threats by China and Russia Addressing the issue at the conclusion of the summit, US President Joe Biden stressed the importance of finding a “democratic alternative”. He stated:
‘The leaders’ endorsement of a global minimum tax would help ensure global equity and a proposal to finance infrastructure projects in the developing world would counter the influence of China’.1.
The summit raised questions on a number of other Chinese issues including: 2.
o G7 tells Beijing to respect rights in Xinjiang o G7 calls for preservation of Hong Kong freedoms o G7 urges study in China on COVID origins o Expresses concern over situation in East and South China Seas o G7 calls for peace in Taiwan Strait
The G7 also insisted Russia to take action against those carrying out cyber-attacks, insisting they ‘Stop destabilizing and malicious activities’3. and criticised Russia over the arrests of Alex Navalny and Roman Protasevich, and their actions in Ukraine and Belarus.
Reaction In response, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said:
"The days when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries are long gone… We always believe that countries, big or small, strong or weak, poor or rich, are equals, and that world affairs should be handled through consultation by all countries."4.
Immediately after the summit, Joe Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin with both agreeing to co- operate on global security (particularly identifying US entities that should be free from ransomware or other cyber-attacks). Both presidents agreed the meeting was ’productive’ and free from hostility.5.
G7 unable to agree on a timeline to end the use of coal to generate electricity G7, although were unable to secure a timeline for the cessation of the use of fossil fuels, promised to:
‘Phase out new direct government support for international carbon-intensive fossil fuel energy as soon as possible…To be credible, ambitions need to be supported by tangible actions in all sectors of our economies and societies’.6.
Reaction Climate activists with Extinction Rebellion commented on the summit leaders on their website describing the G7 commitment as a ‘dismal failure to match the urgency of the crisis we find ourselves in’.7.
In research carried out by Charity Tearfund together with the Overseas Development Institute and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, in the previous year from January 2020 to March 2021 the current G7 countries committed USD$147 billion to spend on clean energy but spent USD$189 supporting the oil, gas and coal industry.8.
G7 failure to reach COVAX vaccine dose commitment of 1billion. The G7 members announced they had secured 870million doses for the COVAX programme, failing short of the promises made prior to the summit to secure one billion doses. (World Health Organisation has highlighted a requirement for 11billion.9. )
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Reaction Ex UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown described this as “an unforgiveable moral failure”.10. Max Lawson, head of equality for Oxfam stated: “Never in the history of the G7 has there been a bigger pay gap between their actions and the needs of the world. We don’t need to wait for history to judge this summit a colossal failure”.11.
GENERAL REACTION
COVAX and the Confederation of British Industry described the summit as ‘significant’, with CBI stating the summit had:
“Re-ignited a belief that the international community can come together in a spirit of collaboration to tackle the big issues of our age”.12.
Lisa Nandy, Shadow Home Secretary commented
“By every measure, the prime minister’s summit has come up short. No clear plan to vaccinate the world by the end of 2022. No ambitious commitments to place the world on the path to climate safety”.13.
Nick Dearden, director of campaign group Global Justice Now described the summit as not fit for purpose and calling it:
“A pointless exercise in grandstanding without making any substantive progress towards tackling the crises of our lifetimes”.14.
Patrick Watt, director of policy, public affairs and campaigns at Christian Aid was concerned about the implications the summit had on COP26 stating:
“The success of the COP26 climate summit now hangs in the balance. There is still time for rich nations to deliver a solidarity package that tackles these interconnected crises. Without it, the COP will fail.”15.
SUMMIT PROTESTS More than 20 people were arrested over the course of the weekend for offences including: Conspiracy to commit public nuisance Suspicion of obstructing a public highway Being in possession of an article with intent to commit criminal damage Being in possession of a hoax device.16.
Thousands protested on the streets of Cornwall and London from groups including: Surfers against Sewage Free Tigray Free Kashmir Oxfam Extinction Rebellion Red Rebel Brigade BLM Pro Palestine Animal Rebellion Kill the Bill. 17.
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