It’s that time of the week again, when HuffPost UK’s weekly round up of fibs saunters into your life with all the bravado of a maskless Stanley Johnson popping to the shop to buy a newspaper.
It will surprise you not to learn that a sizeable portion of this instalment centres on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but we also have a groundbreaking investigation into oil companies to pour over.
We’ve also decided to add a small section devoted to keeping a historical record of famous(ish) people who say really, really daft things during these turbulent times and this week’s entry is indie icon Ian Brown.
Not even sure what that means tbh. But anyway, let’s get on with our regular feature...
EVERYTHING IS FINE WITH TEST AND TRACE!!!
Health secretary Matt Hancock has repeatedly insisted the UK’s Test and Trace system is working fine and everyone should just chill out and give him a break.
On Thursday he was once again under pressure as Labour’s Karl Turner said there is “no sign of the world-beating” test and trace programme in his Kingston upon Hull East constituency.
In response and treading a familiar path, Hancock praised the “biggest contact tracing programme that this country has ever seen”.
But as any decent Agony Aunt could tell you, there’s a difference between being big and being good.
The latest and possibly most shocking evidence that all is not well with Test and Trace, a Somerset woman described to HuffPost UK this week how she was told the only Covid-19 test available for her son was in Northern Ireland or Aberdeen. To make matters even more shambolic, she later found out there were plenty available at her deserted local centre.
Ivanka Trump and the disappearing mask
Have a look a this...
Yup, it’s Ivanka Trump, Tiffany Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Lara Trump on their way to the first presidential debate on Tuesday, all of them wearing masks like sensible citizens during a global pandemic.
Yet when they sat down at the indoor venue, all but Melania took them off.
This, obviously, all came days before Melania Trump, and Donald, tested positive for coronavirus.
At one point during the debate, a Cleveland Clinic doctor approached unmasked members of the audience – on the president’s side of the room – with masks in tow and asked them to put them on.
A Bloomberg reporter on site claimed that the doctor told him she was refused and the audience members did not put masks on.
The pub curfew
Years ago, one of the government’s favourite refrains when dealing with the coronavirus pandemic was “follow the science”.
Oh wait, that was only April.
Anyhoos, it once again reared its head over the weekend when the culture secretary said there is “definitely science” behind the 10pm curfew for pubs, bars and restaurants which has, in some cases, led to impromptu street parties.
Oliver Dowden, told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “There is definitely science behind it, that’s why we’re requiring people to be seated in pubs and restaurants, so that stops the flow of them to and from the bar.
“We are reducing the closing times to stop people staying later and drinking. And the point about all of this is that everyone has their part to play. If we all play by the rules, we can ensure that there are not further, more draconian restrictions.”
Dowden’s comments come despite a scientist advising the government saying he had “never heard” the measure discussed at Sage meetings.
And according to a report in The Times, Boris Johnson introduced the curfew measures not based on science or modelling, but because it was “a good symbolic thing because it’s a low-cost way of sending a clear message that things are different”.
Which doesn’t sound very... scientific.
The oil giants
Earlier this year, oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell made a big song and dance about quitting a handful of high-profile industry groups that were campaigning to undermine regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.
This was all part of a very public and seemingly very-well meaning drive to look like they actually cared about the environment which they’ve helped damage over decades.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out it’s all a bit of a charade, and an Unearthed and HuffPost investigation found the two companies are still active members of at least eight trade organisations lobbying against climate measures in the United States and Australia.
Reviews of leaked and publicly available documents show those groups are part of the sprawling network of state and regional trade associations that have, in at least one case, boasted about quashing the very carbon-reduction policies the oil giants publicly claim to support.
You can read the full investigation here.
The fib that is actually the opposite to a fib
Yes, we know, this isn’t a fib. In fact it’s the opposite of a fib – it is god’s honest truth.
But it was said by a Tory minister in relation to coronavirus and makes them look quite bad which is a rare thing these days so you’re just going to have to deal with it.
This is skills minister Gillian Keegan...
On Tuesday she was sent out on behalf of the government to explain lockdown rules imposed on the north-east of England which banned people from mixing with other households in any setting.
Now, it had been illegal for two households to mix inside or in a garden, but it was only guidance that they should not meet at public venues, including restaurants and pubs.
Keegan was asked by BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on whether this meant separate households were still allowed to meet up in pub gardens, to which she responded: “I’m sorry I can’t clarify that.
“I don’t know the answer to that question but I’m sure they can find out the answer to that question.”
Pressed on how people are meant to keep up to date with the latest restrictions when ministers cannot, she added: “I’m sorry I can’t answer that question.
“I’m sure there are many people who could. I don’t represent the north-east.”
Labour’s shadow health minister Alex Norris said: “It speaks volumes that even the government’s own ministers don’t know what’s going on.
“This will do little to inspire public confidence in the north-east and across the country.”