Simon Cheng, from the Hong Kong expatriate group in Britain, said his fellow citizens' decisions to come to the UK depend on age, political involvement and career prospects. He agrees with Home Office estimates of hundreds of thousands arriving over the next five years. They include pro-democracy protesters and people dissatisfied with Hong Kong’s political reality. A small survey of Hong Kongers found that those inclined to move to the UK were mostly working professionals, often in fields like financial services. The Home Office estimates that tax receipts from new arrivals, many likely to work in well-paid sectors, suggest a net benefit to government finances of £2.4 to £2.9 billion over five years. This significant movement of people presents opportunities for the Government, but also challenges it to put in place effective support for the less well-off arrivals.

Protestant and Catholic church leaders said the causes of the recent violence were complex and deep-rooted, and have appealed for politicians to provide a unified response to the recent ‘heart-breaking’ scenes of violence. In a joint open letter, they called on them to ‘renew their commitment to peace, reconciliation and the protection of the most vulnerable’. Almost ninety police officers have been injured in rioting in the past week. The leaders' plea is addressed to NI ministers, the British and Irish governments, and the EU. They called for the entire NI executive to approach the EU and UK government to deal with the Brexit fallout and the Irish Sea border, and for politicians to express their support for the police. Much good work on the ground has been undermined as tension has risen and confidence has plummeted.

948 church leaders have sent an open letter to Boris Johnson and the devolved nations’ first ministers, opposing the introduction of vaccine passports, which they call ‘one of the most dangerous policy proposals ever to be made in the history of British politics’. They warn of a ‘two-tier society’, divided between those who have had the vaccine and those who will be barred from venues because of no immunisation. They intend to keep church doors open to all, regardless of whether they have had the vaccine. The scheme ‘has the potential to bring the end of liberal democracy as we know it and create a surveillance state with the government using technology to control aspects of citizens' lives’. However recent surveys have indicated a high level of support for passports among the public, albeit with some concerns.

Cressida Cowell, the children’s laureate, has asked Boris Johnson for £100m to be ring-fenced for building new and restoring neglected libraries every year as millions of children are ‘missing out on opportunities to discover the life-changing magic of reading’. Decades of research has linked childhood reading to future success. The ability to read is a more telling predictor of future life chances than a family’s socio-economic status. Public and school libraries have been subject to swingeing cuts over the last decade. Johnson will reportedly unveil a ‘four-year emergency’ plan for literacy next month. Government figures reveal over 200,000 pupils are set to enter secondary school this autumn without being able to read properly - a rise of 30,000 since last year. The £100m funding is not unreasonable; in comparison, £320m is ring-fenced for physical education in primary schools, with hundreds of millions set aside every year since 2013. Ms Cowell said, ’Surely the opportunity to become a reader for pleasure is just as important as PE?’