Lockdown Files
The Lockdown Files are a series of articles in ''The Daily Telegraph'' containing evidence, analysis, speculation, and opinion relating to more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages obtained from former health secretary Matt Hancock that were leaked to them. The material, relating to the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, was given to ''The Telegraph'' by Isabel Oakeshott, who had worked with Hancock on his book '' Pandemic Diaries.'' Oakeshott said that the release of these messages was motivated by the slow pace of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry and her concern that the findings might be a "whitewash", citing public money being used in legal action to redact the names of officials. Articles about COVID-19 response ''The Telegraph'' argue that some messages show an intent on the part of Hancock and several members of his team to cause fear in the general public through their messaging in order ensure compliance with public health policy. In response to public rumours about coming ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isabel Oakeshott
Isabel Oakeshott (born 12 June 1974) is a British political journalist. Oakeshott was the political editor of ''The Sunday Times'' and is the co-author, with Michael Ashcroft, of an unauthorised biography of former British prime minister David Cameron, '' Call Me Dave'', and of various other non-fiction titles, including ''White Flag? An Examination of the UK's Defence Capability'', also written with Ashcroft, '' Farmageddon'', co-written with Philip Lymbery, and '' Pandemic Diaries'', co-written with Matt Hancock, which provides an account of Hancock's tenure as the UK's Health Secretary during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early life Oakeshott was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh, and then at Gordonstoun School in Moray, Scotland. In 1996, she graduated with a BA in history from the University of Bristol. Journalism career Oakeshott is regarded as a right-wing journalist. Oakeshott began her career in journalism in Scotland, working for the '' East Lothian Courier ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020
The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1374) is an English emergency statutory instrument that replaced the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020, second lockdown regulations from 2 December 2020. As initially made, it brought back the three-tier legal framework first introduced by the first COVID-19 tier regulations in England (in effect 14 October – 5 November 2020), but with changes to the restrictions within each tier. The regulations are sometimes referred as the "second tier regulations" or the "all tiers regulations". Exceptions to the restrictions on gatherings were initially to be permitted during a 'Christmas period', defined as 23–27 December 2020. But following a continued rise in infections in London and the South East, parts of those areas were moved up to tier 3 (then the highest level) on 17 and 19 December. On 20 December, London and the tier 3 parts of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alok Sharma
Alok Kumar Sharma, Baron Sharma, (born 7 September 1967), is a British Conservative Party politician. He served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022, having previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2020 to 2021 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2019 to 2020. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West from 2010 to 2024 and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024. Sharma served in Theresa May's government as Minister of State for Housing from 2017 to 2018 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment from 2018 to 2019. Sharma was the president for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and negotiated the Glasgow Climate Pact. Early life and career Sharma was born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, and moved to Reading with his parents when he was five years old. He is a Hindu. His father, Prem, was involved in Conservative politics in Reading, and b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax system, taxation, Infrastructure, state infrastructure, and economic growth. It is led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, chancellor of the exchequer, currently Rachel Reeves since 5 July 2024. The Treasury's main offices are located in London and Darlington, with additional offices in Edinburgh and Norwich. It is one of the smallest government departments in terms of staff numbers, but widely considered the most powerful. History The origins of the Treasury of England have been traced by some to an individual known as Henry the Treasurer, a servant to King William the Conqueror. This claim is based on an entry in the Domesday Book showing the individual Henry "the treasurer" as a landowner in Winchester, where the royal treasure was sto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Security
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against Offensive (military), military attack, national security is widely understood to include also non-military dimensions, such as the security from terrorism, minimization of crime, economic security, energy security, environmental security, food security, and Computer security, cyber-security. Similarly, national security risks include, in addition to the actions of other State (polity), states, action by violent non-state actors, by narcotic cartels, organized crime, by multinational corporations, and also the effects of natural disasters. Governments rely on a range of measures, including Political power, political, Economic power, economic, and military power, as well as diplomacy, to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wuhan Institute Of Virology
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (WIV; zh, s=中国科学院武汉病毒研究所) is a research institute on virology under the Wuhan Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Located in Jiangxia District, Wuhan, Hubei, it was founded in 1956 and opened mainland China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in 2018. The institute has collaborated with the Galveston National Laboratory in the United States, the Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie in France, and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. The institute has been an active premier research center for the study of coronaviruses. History The WIV was founded in 1956 as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It was established by scientists Gao Shangyin, a graduate of Soochow University (Suzhou), and Chen Huagui. In 1961, it became the South China Institute of Microbiology, and in 1962 was renamed Wuhan Microbiology I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support United Kingdom cabinet committee, Cabinet committees and coordinate the delivery of government objectives via other departments. it had over 10,200 staff, mostly civil servants, some of whom work in Whitehall. Staff working in the British Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister's Office are part of the Cabinet Office. Responsibilities The Cabinet Office's core functions are: * Supporting collective government, helping to ensure the effective development, coordination, and implementation of policy; * Supporting the National Security Council and the Joint Intelligence Organisation, coordinating the government's response to crises, and managing the UK's cyber securi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Public Health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the determinants of health of a population and the threats it faces is the basis for public health. The ''public'' can be as small as a handful of people or as large as a village or an entire city; in the case of a pandemic it may encompass several continents. The concept of ''health'' takes into account physical, psychological, and Well-being, social well-being, among other factors.What is the WHO definition of health? from the Preamble to the Constitution of WHO as adopted by the Internationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NHS Test And Trace
NHS Test and Trace was a government-funded service in England, established in 2020 to track and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The programme is part of the UK Health Security Agency; the service and the agency are headed by Jenny Harries. The service was the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Minister of State for Social Care. It has devolved to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation at that ministry. The initial budget for the service was £15billion, rising to £22bn in November 2020, and a further £15bn was allocated for 2021–2022 to bring the total for the two years to £37bn. Routine contact tracing was halted on 24 February 2022 when the service was closed. The service provided temporary sites where samples are taken from individuals, processed the samples at newly created network of laboratories, and communicated the results; infected people were instructed to isolate themselves from others and as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been its leader from 2019 to 2021. He was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016. Farage served as a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England (European Parliament constituency), South East England from 1999 until the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in 2020. A prominent Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom, Eurosceptic since the early 1990s, Farage was first elected to the European Parliament (EP) in 1999. In 2004, he became the president of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy. Farage was 2006 UK Independence Party leadership election, elected UKIP's leader in 2006 and led the party at the 2009 European Parliament election, when it won the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cabinet Of The United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom. A committee of the Privy Council (United Kingdom), Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister and its members include Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretaries of State and senior Minister of State (United Kingdom), Ministers of State. Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister and are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Ministerial Code says that the business of the Cabinet (and United Kingdom cabinet committee, cabinet committees) is mainly questions of major issues of policy, questions of critical importance to the public and questions on which there is an unresolved argument between departments. The work of the Cabinet is scrutinised by the Official Opp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |