Governing includes difficult choices, confronting seemingly conflicting demands - and making a decision. So, should the government say yes to a new coal mine in Cumbria that will provide a domestic source of coking coal for the steel industry? Currently 40% of our coking coal comes from Russia. Now  the government faces a deadline to decide. The office of the Planning Inspectorate has sent its completed report to Housing, Communities and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove with a 7th July deadline for him to issue his decision. If it goes ahead, it would be the first deep coal mine to open in the UK for over 30 years. There are many opponents to Whitehaven and they have previously protested outside the Home Office in London as well as at the site in Whitehaven.

A new Covid vaccine has been approved for use in the UK by regulators. It is manufactured by Valneva, using more traditional technology - similar to how polio and flu shots are made. It contains a whole copy of the virus which has been inactivated, so that it can't cause the disease but does teach the body how to fight it. The UK was due to receive 100 million doses of the jab, but the government cancelled the deal in September due to a ‘breach of obligations’. As with the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, it is designed to be given as two doses. The Commission on Human Medicines said, ‘We have advised that the benefit risk balance is positive. The vaccine is approved for people aged 18 to 50 years, with the first and second doses to be taken 28 days apart.’

Some asylum seekers from across the channel will be given a one-way ticket to Rwanda, under new government plans. Rwanda would take responsibility for them, put them through an asylum process and if successful they will have long-term accommodation in Rwanda with entitlement to full protection under Rwandan law. Plus equal access to employment, and enrolment in healthcare and social care services. Plans also include asylum seekers resettled in the UK will be spread more evenly across local authorities. Operational control of the Channel handed to the Royal Navy. Investing £50m for new equipment and specialist personnel for Channel operations. A new reception centre for migrants and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for smuggling. However at the UN last year  the UK government expressed concern over Rwanda’s continued restrictions to civil and political rights and media freedom. 

German police have detained four people accused of plotting to create ‘civil war conditions’ and eventually overthrow democracy. United Patriots are part of Citizens of the Reich. They reject the German state as illegal. They intended attacking substations and power lines to destroy Germany’s energy infrastructure and cause long-lasting nationwide power failures. A number of high-profile people were also targeted as potential kidnap victims. One of the targets said, ‘There are forces that intended to destabilise the state and democracy. They are a small minority but are highly dangerous.’ The movement has an estimated 19,000 members who also spread racism and misinformation. (See) They were arrested on April 13 police also seized numerous guns including Kalashnikov, gold bars and cash in euros and foreign currency totalling £16,600. They went before a judge on April 14. A fifth suspect remains at large. Investigators have identified 12 people also connected to the group, which used the Telegram messaging app to communicate.