Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

In March DEFRA. responding to the Godfray review, set out the next phase of its bovine TB strategy which will include cattle and badger vaccination and improved testing. The issues are complex. Straightforward preventative actions are still not being implemented by farmers owing to weariness and frustration. Pray for wisdom for government and opinion-formers. Pray for all farmers and animals affected. Pray that any spiritual issues and as yet unknown factors causing the disease to persist will be revealed and addressed (Exodus 16:26). Rain in June has greened up the fields and provided much-needed grazing, but predicted crop yields are still much lower than normal. This follows many turbulent months for farming due to the weather and Brexit. Give thanks to the Lord who ‘visits the earth and waters it’ (Psalm 65:9); pray that He will ‘crown the year with His goodness’ (Psalm 65:11).

Church leaders led by Pastor Ade Omooba continue their legal challenge of the lockdown restrictions on churches. The group has been stressing to the Government that churches, not civil authorities, have the legal and moral authority to make decisions over worship services. This challenge has already led to speeding up plans to allow churches to meet. A recent guidance document lists restrictions on activities like singing and baptisms. Nearly all the points made are listed as things for churches to consider, not rules to follow: so churches that emphasise the importance of singing may be able to do so, having considered how to avoid any risk. Nothing has changed yet: the Government must update coronavirus regulations in line with the guidance. If they do reflect the guidance, church leaders should be emboldened to open their churches and resume services in the way they see fit.

The prime minister's plan to spend £5 billion on rebuilding the economy after the coronavirus crisis has been met with scepticism by Rt Rev Martin Gorick, Bishop of Dudley. In a keynote speech in Dudley, Boris Johnson announced a new ‘opportunity guarantee’ to help the economy cope with the ‘aftershock’ of the coronavirus crisis. Bishop Martin said, ‘We need to pray not just for warm and expansive words, but we need to pray for cool calm thinking, planning and the real determination to deliver for the poorest communities, and especially for some of our young people.’ The Prime Minister acknowledged that it might seem premature to make a speech now about Britain after Covid, given events in Leicester, but said, ‘We cannot continue simply to be prisoners of this crisis. The country needs to be ready for what may be coming’.

Dominic Raab says that China’s new laws (see world article 3 below), cementing its control over Hong Kong, are a serious violation of the 1997 agreement about Hong Kong's future. Boris Johnson has said he will now make it possible for those with British National Overseas status to enter the UK, with limited leave to live and work and apply for British citizenship. The ‘new bespoke immigration route’ means an eligible Hong Kong resident could move to the UK without the current limits, and would be able to live and work in the UK for five years. After that they (and their dependents) could apply for settled status and eventual citizenship. China firmly opposes this and reserves the right to take corresponding measures. Australia is also considering offering a safe haven for Hongkongers.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, the world-renowned expert leading Oxford University’s team devising a vaccine, told MPs that it would provide ‘a good duration of immunity for several years at least, and probably be better than naturally-acquired immunity.’ Asked for a timeline on the vaccine amid concerns of facing the winter without one, she said, ‘I hope we can improve on those timelines and come to the rescue.’ 8,000 Britons are in a major trial of the Oxford vaccine, and an experimental vaccine is being tested by a German partner. These trials showed encouraging early results, producing neutralising antibodies between 1.8 and 2.8 times greater than those of recovered patients. The key question is whether the vaccine will protect people from becoming infected, or simply make them less ill. It may also work less well in older people because their immune systems are weaker.

Ruth Coghill, facing an unexpected pregnancy in her 40s, was offered an abortion by her doctor. ‘He let my husband and me know that it was now our choice whether we wanted to abort our baby. When I went home, I could not get that out of my mind. It was just not in my frame of reference. We had three beautiful children, and I had never been asked that. Was it just because of my age? What was this all about? Then I began to wonder; what would I have done if Bob hadn't been with me? What if I hadn't had somebody who loved me who was going to help me raise this child? All of these questions started coming to my mind. But I let it go, and our beautiful boy was born.’ Ruth chose life.

Boris Johnson has announced that the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be merged. A new government department will be created. CSW is concerned as each department has a distinct, essential mandate. It said any proposed changes must not advance economic and security interests at the expense of poverty alleviation, humanitarian assistance, and the promotion of human rights The merger, to be made during a rise in global poverty caused by coronavirus and reconstituting the only department with a humanitarian focus, could be devastating. Another concern is that this announcement pre-empted the outcome of a defence, security and foreign policy review. CSW is urging the Government to await its conclusion before implementing any changes.

In just over a fortnight 33,000 people have used the crowdfunding website GoFundMe to donate to Black Lives Matter UK, known as @BLMUK and formally ‘verified’ by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other sites carrying its content. BLMUK is influential and suddenly rich, having raised almost a million pounds in two weeks. Donors assume BLMUK exists to lobby against racism, but it can use its finances to pursue extreme aims which have nothing to do with racial equality. Their GoFundMe statement explains their commitment to dismantle imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and more. Those crowdfunding BLMUK are probably unaware that their donations could be spent in pursuit of abolishing capitalism or disbanding the police. BLMUK uses social networking to support BDS which calls for a boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.

With effect from 4 July, where it is not possible to stay 2m apart, people should stay ‘one metre plus’. Churches may open for prayers, services, and weddings for a maximum of 30 people, subject to social distancing and no singing. Restaurants and pubs will offer hospitality with table service only and limited contact between staff and customers, who must give contact details on arrival. Hotels, B&Bs, cottages, campsites, and caravan parks can also reopen; people can stay away from home for the first time since March. Other restrictions for meeting indoors and outdoors are being eased, as long as businesses protect the public from risk of infection. Sadly thousands of sun-seekers flocked to the beach at Southend just one day after the announcement, completely disregarding all rules by sitting or standing close together on a packed beach. See

After further easing of lockdown measures, health leaders are calling for an urgent review to determine whether the UK is properly prepared for the ‘real risk’ of a second wave. In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal, ministers were warned that urgent action would be needed to prevent further loss of life. The presidents of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons, Nursing, Physicians, and GPs all signed the letter which stated, ‘While the future shape of the pandemic in the UK is hard to predict, the available evidence indicates that local flare-ups are increasingly likely and a second wave a real risk. Many elements of the infrastructure needed to contain the virus are beginning to be put in place, but substantial challenges remain.’ The chair of the BMA urged ministers to set up a cross-party group with a ‘constructive, non-partisan, four nations approach’, tasked with developing practical recommendations. Pray that the public calmly consider this warning and act wisely.