London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 30, 2025

Cure worse than disease? Critics trash BoJo’s anti-Covid restrictions, while authorities warn more may be needed

Cure worse than disease? Critics trash BoJo’s anti-Covid restrictions, while authorities warn more may be needed

The UK government has warned that it may need to introduce tougher anti-Covid measures than those already announced, but critics say the current restrictions will cause more harm than good.

Robert Jenrick, the UK housing secretary, told Sky News on Tuesday that the government’s decision to introduce new Covid-related restrictions was unavoidable but further action may be needed. “The message that we did deliver to those leaders in Merseyside was that we need to take these steps, we probably even need to go further but that we want to design those steps jointly between ourselves and local government,” Jenrick said.


The comments follow the government’s introduction of a three-tier restrictions plan for England. So far, only the Liverpool City Region has seen the imposition of the toughest measures, which means gyms, pubs and bars are to close and the mixing of households is forbidden. “Even the baseline, which we were proposing for Tier Three, cannot guarantee success” Jenrick added.

The housing secretary’s comments come in sharp contrast to the opinions of some Britons, who see the measures as unwarranted.

Large swathes of the country have been hit with Tier Two measures, which includes the banning of households mixing indoors. The leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, claims that the impact on Britain’s pubs will be severe, saying the “cure is worse than the disease.”


Meanwhile, Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce, said that businesses in Merseyside were left “bewildered, frustrated and angry” as the new measures will forces many businesses to close.

Some people were also left confused by the fact pubs and restaurants in the Liverpool region are permitted to stay open if they serve “substantial” meals, whilst purely drinking establishments are forced to close.

 
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show unemployment reaching a three-year high of 4.5% in August, with employment falling by 153,000 over the June-August period. As pubs, gyms and leisure centers are forced to close in some areas and others are impacted by socializing restrictions, there are fears that more job losses will follow.


The medical director of NHS England warned on Monday that there are now more Covid patients in hospitals than there were when Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the nationwide lockdown in March. Case numbers continue to grow, with over 620,000 cases registered in total as of October 12.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
×