In this issue

June 21, 2022

Greedy strikers? Nonsense. It's just supply and demand

Grant Shapps, the jaunty secretary of state for transport who treats politics as a branch of showbusiness, keeps telling Keir Starmer to condemn the rail strikes, as if the RMT, a union which has disaffiliated from Labour and hasn't much time for the leader of the opposition, would meekly obey the order of a man they probably despise more than Shapps.

6 mins

Brexit To Blame For Staffing Problems, Says EasyJet Boss

The boss of Britain's biggest budget airline has contradicted a minister's assertion that Brexit is not to blame for the airport and airline chaos. Johan Lundgren, chief executive of easyJet, said 8,000 job applications from European Union citizens have been rejected by his firm because candidates did not have permission to work in the UK.

2 mins

No 10 admits intervening to have Carrie story dropped

Downing Street has confirmed that members of Boris Johnson's team intervened following the publication of a story about his wife, Carrie, in The Times, but denied that the prime minister himself contacted the paper to complain.

2 mins

Lose Wakefield and Labour will face 'serious questions'

Streeting stresses crucial nature of Thursday's by-election

2 mins

Labour to force vote on new watchdog after Geidt exit

Parliament is set to vote on a Labour plan to grant MPs on a cross-party select committee new powers to hold Boris Johnson and his ministers to account following the exit of his ethics adviser. Lord Geidt quit last week as the independent adviser on ministers' interests - saying the PM had put him in an "impossible and odious position".

1 min

Will the protocol dispute be election fodder for the PM?

Boris Johnson appears to have decided that there is nothing quite like a good row with the EU. More than two years on from signing his "oven-ready" agreement - the one he "whacked in the microwave" to get Brexit done - the PM has decided it's worth poking holes in the thing and reheating the row all over again.

2 mins

Omicron Sub-Variants Could Be Evolving To Target Lungs

The latest sub-variants of Omicron may have evolved to target the lung, prompting fears the next wave of the Covid could be starting. Hospital admissions for Covid patients in England have begun to grow again, new NHS data shows.

2 mins

Melting Arctic Ice May Ease Russia's Grip On Sea Routes

Sea ice levels could be so low by 2065 that the Arctic's navigability will dramatically increase, opening new trade routes and loosening Russia's grip on trade in the region, research suggests.

3 mins

Government tree-planting rates a 'total policy failure

The government has been accused of overseeing a "total economic and environmental policy failure" on tree planting, with current rates not even halfway to hitting targets set in 2019. Boris Johnson said the government would plant 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of new woodland in Britain every year by 2024. But with a year and a half to go, official figures reveal planting is still below 14,000 hectares for the year to 31 March 2022.

2 mins

Army whistleblower says orgies common and women are deemed 'lesser beings'

Paratroopers were captured on video having sex at barracks

4 mins

ISIS 'Beatle' Remorseful For His Role In Beheading, Says Mother Of Killed Journalist

The mother of a journalist killed by one of the Isis "Beatles" has said the kidnapper responsible for her son's abduction came close to apologising to her during a prison meeting. Diane Foley's son James was abducted by an Isis gang while he was reporting on the Syrian civil war in 2012.

1 min

Le Pen triumphant after 'seismic' far-right gains

Macron faces compromise to lead following French elections

3 mins

Russia Threatens Lithuania Over Kaliningrad Rail Ban

Russia has warned Lithuania a Nato member that it will "take action" unless the movement of goods by rail to the Kaliningrad exclave is restored.

1 min

Ukraine passes law banning import of Russian literature

Ukraine's parliament has voted through two laws to ban the import and promotion of Russian-language books and music in a bid to break cultural ties with the invading country. The laws need to be signed by Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky to take effect, but he has made no indication that he would oppose the bans.

1 min

Read all stories from The Independent

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