Travel company Tui has extended its cancelation of trips to Spain and its islands.
It has now cancelled all holidays to the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands until 10 August and all holidays to the mainland of Spain until 17 August.
The move is in response to advice against non-essential travel to Spain and a 14-day quarantine period for people arriving in the UK from Spain.
However, Tui is adding extra flights to destinations in Greece and Turkey.
Refunds
The UK changed its guidance on travel to Spain after a spike in infections in some regions.
Tui said that customers affected would be able to cancel and receive a full cash refund. Alternatively, they can amend their holiday to a later date, or to a new destination.
Those already in the country can continue as planned, although earlier this week fellow tour operator Jet2 told some of its customers to return early from Spain.
Tui has also cancelled holidays to Cyprus until early August and to Bulgaria all year.
Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said: “Over 70% of customers with cancelled holidays moved to another destination over the same period or in the coming weeks.”
He added that the extra flights the company had added last weekend to Greece and Turkey had already nearly sold out.
The government should work towards a more targeted approach when deciding where to impose quarantine restrictions, Mr Flintham said.
“[We call upon} the UK Government to work closely with the travel industry and remove the ‘blunt tool’ approach to quarantine and consider the rapid introduction of regional Travel Corridors.
“The level of uncertainty and confusion created this week is damaging for business and customer confidence in travel.”
Jet2 also recently urged the UK government not to introduce blanket quarantine periods on whole countries.
Image copyright Getty Images
On Thursday, Tui said it would shut 166 High Street stores in the UK and Ireland, affecting up to 900 jobs.
The decision was made after changes in customer behaviour, including a shift to online, the firm said.
About 350 retail stores will remain following the closures.
The company announced in May that it planned to cut around 8,000 jobs globally as it sought to reduce overhead costs by 30% in a major restructuring.
But as the coronavirus pandemic has drawn on, the shift to online has accelerated.
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The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) has cancelled a sponsorship deal with a city in Saudi Arabia after backlash from fans.
Game developer Riot was criticised for taking big money from a country that has a poor record on human rights.
Now the company says it realises the deal had “caused rifts in the very community we seek to grow”.
The LEC is one of the most popular esports leagues in the world.
As soon as the deal with megacity Neom was announced, people started kicking off – including those who work for Riot.
Some people pointed out the LEC had changed its logo to reflect the rainbow colours of Pride – and yet had signed a deal with a county that has executed people for same-sex relationships.
Skip Twitter post by @MargarineLuka
LEC: hey look, we love pride!!! We even got a pride logo and you know one of our casters is openly gay!! We’re so inclusive!! Also LEC: lets partner up with this company that’s state controlled by Saudi Arabia and dismisses human and LGBT+ rights, our values align
— Dabster (@MargarineLuka) July 29, 2020
End of Twitter post by @MargarineLuka
And the city Neom is controversial too. It’s a massive multi-billion pound project that intends to create a futuristic city.
Its promotional blurb promises an “idyllic lifestyle paired with excellent economic opportunities that surpasses that of any other metropolis”.
Early ideas included flying taxis and a fake moon.
But a recent report in The Guardian, pointed to claims that up to 20,000 members of a local tribe were being forcibly evicted from their land to make way for the city.
And it looks like LEC has been quick to realise how badly the sponsorship deal went down.
There’s now a new statement, saying: “As a company and as a league, we know that it’s important to recognize when we make mistakes and quickly work to correct them.”
Although LEC says it’s “steadfastly committed to all of our players and fans worldwide including those living in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East,” it’s ended the deal and admitted it moved “too quickly” in an effort to expand esports.
Some fan say it proves how important it is to stand up for what you believe.
Skip Twitter post by @pyethagorass
Beyond disappointed with the partnership the LEC has formed with NEOM, but I’m overwhelmed with pride at how the community, both fans, and on-air talent have reacted. Stand your ground and fight for what you believe in, never change #LEC
— Adam Pye (@pyethagorass) July 29, 2020
End of Twitter post by @pyethagorass
Skip Twitter post by @excoundrel
Speaking up against this deal in such force was hugely influential in causing a swift reversal. Everyone can be proud but none more so than the #LEC talent team – they quite /literally/ put their jobs on the line to defend their values. Huge respect. https://t.co/cf33nLAwwC
— Excoundrel (@excoundrel) July 30, 2020
End of Twitter post by @excoundrel
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British Airways owner IAG has said it will take until at least 2023 for passenger levels to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
IAG, which also owns Aer Lingus, posted a loss of €4.2bn (£3.8bn) in the first half of the year as demand collapsed.
Passenger numbers fell 98% in the April-to-June period, and the group has said it is planning to cut jobs.
IAG said it planned to raise €2.75bn, and had support for this from its main shareholder, Qatar Airways.
However, its shares fell 6% to 170p in early trading on Friday.
Airlines call for joint US-EU virus testing scheme
BA employs about 45,000 staff and has more than half of these on furlough. It is planning to cut up to 12,000 jobs and is facing the threat of strike action by staff whose jobs are under threat.
Chief executive Willie Walsh said: “The industry will recover from this crisis, though we do not expect this to be before 2023, and there will be opportunities for IAG to capitalise on its strength and leadership positions.”
He added that business had begun to pick up as guidance on travel abroad was loosened: “We have seen evidence that demand recovers when government restrictions are lifted.”
But he said the industry would never be the same again: “Anyone who believes that this is just a temporary downturn and therefore can be fixed with temporary measures, I’m afraid seriously misjudges what the industry is going through.
“This will represent a structurally changed industry and that’s why we’ve taken the action that we’ve taken and that’s why we believe now the the right time to raise additional capital.”
‘Disappointed’
Mr Walsh said customers with pre-existing bookings were continuing to fly to and from Spain, despite the government’s change to guidance advising against non-essential travel to the country and the re-imposition of quarantine for people returning.
Some IAG airline passengers are still chasing refunds for cancelled flights.
A Civil Aviation Authority review of airlines’ performance on refunds said on Thursday that test calls to BA terminated after a recorded message had played out.
Mr Walsh told the BBC: “It’s important for us to acknowledge we have disappointed people. We’ve not been able to refund people as quickly as we would like.”
He said the company had paid out £1.1bn in refunds and that it aimed to speed up the repayments process so people would receive refunds within seven days of applying. But he said it was a complex process, and much of it had to be done manually.
Image caption
The hearing marked the first time Jeff Bezos has given testimony to Congress
“If Congress doesn’t bring fairness to Big Tech, which they should have done years ago, I will do it myself with executive orders.”
Those were US President Donald Trump’s words on Wednesday shortly before the leaders of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook were quizzed by Congress.
That word “fairness” is crucial when it comes to the future regulation of these tech titans. That’s because, in the mouths of different lawmakers, fairness means very different things.
“These companies, as they exist today, have monopoly power… some need to be broken up, all need to be properly regulated.”
Those were the closing remarks of David Cicilline, chairman of the House judiciary committee’s anti-trust sub-committee.
For him, fairness means not just clipping the wings of Big Tech, but fundamentally restructuring their relationship with Americans.
Cicilline was one of many lawmakers who came out swinging. At one point he asked Amazon’s Jeff Bezos why the company had been compared to a drug dealer.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption
Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook’s chiefs all gave testimony via video link because of the coronavirus pandemic
This being American politics, there was also – of course – a partisan split.
Republicans like Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz had a different interpretation of fairness – and it had nothing to do with anti-trust.
“I’ll just cut straight to the chase. Big Tech’s out to get conservatives,” said Jordan.
Much of their ire centred around claims of censorship, specifically that Facebook and Google unfairly discriminate against conservatives.
President Trump has suggested likewise. He’s already criticised Twitter and Facebook for removing conservative content and even flagging his own posts and tweets.
US elections
This split makes predicting how the US might try to lasso these tech giants difficult.
Republicans are generally against market regulation, against increasing red tape.
Many Democrats however believe that these companies are acting like cartels – that they’re hurting “mom and pop” businesses. That tougher legislation will protect consumers.
The sub-committee will publish its recommendations – and then it’s down to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
It’s highly unlikely though that anything much will happen before the US elections in November.
As well as the presidential vote, all the seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, as well as about a third of the Senate.
And so we reach a fork in the road for Big Tech in America.
A Republican win would probably see the tech giants scrutinised further over how they police free speech. Section 230 – which gives social media companies immunity from prosecution for what is published on their platforms – would probably be looked at.
If the Democrats win, expect more regulation in an attempt to inject more competition into the tech industry.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Sundar Pichai faced questions about bias and the extent Google makes use of user data to generate profits
In reality though, it’s unlikely to be that black and white.
There are Republicans that have sympathies for some of the anti-competition arguments, for example.
The accusations around Amazon hurting tens of thousands of small American businesses is a Republican concern as much as a Democrat one.
There may be bipartisan compromises around anti-competition that are palatable to both sides.
But it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that whoever wins the next election, Big Tech is going to get whacked. The question is how and by whom.
Burberry has partnered with China’s tech giant Tencent to launch a luxury concept store using social media interactions.
The British retailer opened its first “social retail store” on Friday in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub.
The companies want to roll the concept out across Burberry’s network in China.
The tie-up comes as tensions rise between the two countries, with China’s UK ambassador saying relations have been “seriously poisoned”.
The Shenzhen social store is the first stage of the Burberry-Tencent partnership, aimed at bringing interactions from social media into physical stores.
“It marks a shift in how we engage with our customers,” Burberry’s chief executive Marco Gobbetti said. “When it came to innovating around social and retail, China was the obvious place to go as home to some of the most digitally savvy luxury customers.”
Tencent’s WeChat social messaging platform, China’s equivalent of WhatsApp, plays a big role in this new customer experience. The app has more than 1bn users in China.
A WeChat programme allows shoppers to unlock exclusive content and personalised experiences which they can share on their social media networks.
All the clothes are labelled with QR codes which show product information on the customer’s phone when scanned.
Image copyright Burberry
“It is a unique space to test and learn, and to trial innovation that can be expanded to the rest of the Burberry network in China,” Mr Gobbetti added.
Retail analysts praised Burberry for the hybrid store which combines online shopping with traditional bricks-and-mortar retailing.
“Burberry has been savvy and ahead of the curve in understanding the importance of social media and e-commerce in targeting Chinese consumers,” said Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group.
“Too many luxury brands focus on bricks and mortar and the in-store experience only while Chinese want to shop online.”
Luxury brands have been selling strongly in China as residents can’t travel overseas on expensive foreign shopping sprees due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
“China is the best bet with the most digital and social savvy consumers, and a large market for luxury retail,” said Siddharth Pathak, a partner at management consulting firm Kearney.
“The usage of digital in stores has been prevalent in China for a few years now but this definitely takes it to a whole new level.”
Headwinds
However, Burberry could face headwinds given the growing political tensions between the UK and China.
On Thursday Beijing’s ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming said the relationship between the UK and China has been “seriously poisoned”.
The two countries have clashed over a number of issues recently including the banning of Chinese technology firm Huawei from the UK’s 5G mobile network and China’s new security law imposed in Hong Kong.
“Burberry could get caught up in UK-China tension. Chinese might boycott the brand if the UK continues to be seen supporting the Hong Kong riots,” warned Mr Rein.
Via guesswork, Google and a bit of trial and error, Iain Lee thinks he has the right equipment to broadcast his new show with Katherine Boyle.
The show is not on the radio, instead the pair broadcast on Twitch, an internet-based service mainly used to watch people play computer games like Fortnite,
No longer just the host, Mr Lee is now the studio manager, camera and lighting operator, plus sound engineer who films, edits and mixes the show.
“I love doing the buttons and the faders and all the technical stuff. I don’t understand it, but I’m a big fan of failure. And oh, do you feel alive when there’s an audience and it’s going wrong.” says Mr Lee, who was once a BBC radio presenter.
The new show required some new equipment.
He had to buy a PC, because his iMac was not much good for playing games on. A decent camera was also purchased to stream live and record him and Katherine Boyle on their chat show, The Late Night Alternative, which launched earlier this month.
Image copyright Iain Lee
Image caption
Iain Lee had to invest in new kit to get up and running
His Elgato game capture device will help broadcast his video game playing.
Another computer with pre-loaded sounds is attached to an audio mixer deck that also feeds into the PC.
But Mr Lee’s favourite purchase is the £69 ($90) microphone arm. It is spring loaded, clips to the desk and swivels silently without bouncing.
“God, getting it was the sexiest moment of my life – apart from when I labelled plugs, recently,” he jokes.
Mr Lee is getting kitted up because he has just joined 7.1 million other streamers who came to Twitch this past month, wanting to create TV from their own home.
Lockdowns flooded Twitch and has been a bonanza for any company that makes equipment to help streamers. They say sales have surged and demand has exploded.
Image copyright Logitech
Image caption
Streaming computer games has become a big business
Some were waiting for this moment.
Computer accessories companies like Corsair and Logitech have been snapping up many of the smaller firms that make streaming related broadcasting equipment.
Over the last three years, Logitech, has acquired Jaybird headphones and Blue Yeti microphones. They have also nabbed gaming equipment and software companies like Streamlabs, Astro Gaming and Saitek.
Bracken Darrell, Logitech’s chief executive, says that he realised streaming was a business opportunity the moment that customers began using their mice, keyboards and webcams to broadcast video games on YouTube.
Mr Darrell says the lockdown has helped people to find their voice and respond to what is going on in the world. He does not think things will return to normal.
“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” he says.
John Maier, the head of Blue Microphones agrees. Trends seen for years have been “hyper-charged”.
“People want better sound, video, a better way to share – it all went through the roof as soon as people started to be at home,” Mr Maier says.
On 21 July, Logitech reported a record 23% increase in sales to $792m (£622m).
Mr Darrell believes that the technology for streaming has a long way to go before it’s for everyone.
“Our whole mission is to remove steps. So we’re nowhere near the point where broadcast and streaming is easy enough. It’s still way too hard, too complicated,” he says.
Image copyright Claire Lim
Image caption
Claire Lim playing ‘Scottish Mum’
Broadcaster and popular Twitch streamer, Claire Lim, or “Wee Claire” as she’s known on Twitch, initially found it difficult to broadcast while playing video games.
She started 18 months ago, playing Red Dead Redemption 2, while chatting via an old webcam.
“I kept falling off my horse, and then I ran over a dog with my horse. I killed it,” she laughs. In between gaming, she began to introduce chatting sessions.
Now as a Twitch partner, she broadcasts on the platform full time, switching seamlessly between several different graphics backgrounds, mixing audio and calling out and reacting to her followers.
Ms Lim’s show includes different characters and her graphics transform in order for her to have a rant as her character, “Scottish Mum”.
She says that instead of a single TV show, she presents as if she were broadcasting an entire channel.
“I want my viewers to laugh, to enjoy their time with me. I want to give them a visual feast,” she says.
Image copyright Claire Lim
Image caption
Claire Lim’s desk
For this, she uses a streaming deck from Elgato. A bit like a DJ booth for Twitch, its buttons activate stored zoom screens and alert sounds. Each press works like the audio visual queue called by a TV director on a live show.
Elgato is another company, recently acquired by Logitech’s competitor, Corsair, that has seen its fortunes benefit from the rise of streaming during lockdown.
Its products have been selling-out according to Julian Fest, the general manager for Elgato.
His father Markus Fest founded the company 20 years ago but it was around the time that Twitch began, in 2012, that Elgato entered streaming.
More Technology of Business
After he and his father found their software was being pirated, they contacted illegal downloaders to find out why they were stealing the product.
“And they all came back with the same response, oh, I’m recording my Xbox, I’m recording my PlayStation and uploading it to YouTube,” says Mr Fest.
Instead of fighting them, they built a product based on their feedback. In 2018, Elgato was sold for an undisclosed amount and Mr Fest went with it to Corsair.
As for Mr Lee, he says the show is “going great guns” and the tech is holding up.
“Katherine and I are having fun learning in front of everyone and I think the audience like it. Why would anyone need to go to a studio to do a radio or TV show ever again? It just doesn’t make sense anymore.”
Image caption
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos testifies to Congress by remote video
The coronavirus crisis might be causing widespread economic upheaval around the world, but the world’s biggest tech firms are thriving.
Amazon sales soared 40% in the three months ending June, while Apple saw a surge in purchases of its iPhones and other hardware.
At Facebook, the number of people on its platforms, which include WhatsApp and Instagram, jumped by 15%.
The gains come as the firms face scrutiny over their size and power.
At a hearing in Washington on Wednesday, lawmakers grilled the companies about whether they were abusing their dominance to quash rivals, noting the sharp contrast between their fortunes and many other firms.
Their positions are likely to become even stronger, as the pandemic pushes even more activity online, said Congressman David Cicilline, the Democrat who leads the committee.
“Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, these corporations already stood out as titans in our economy,” he said.
“In the wake of COVID-19, however, they are likely to emerge stronger and more powerful than ever before.”
The gains weren’t a surprise to analysts – though just how well many of the firms did, was.
At Amazon, the quarterly profit of $5.2bn (£4bn) was the biggest since the company’s start in 1994 and came despite heavy spending on protective gear and other measures due to the virus.
“This is an exceptional quarter on all fronts under extreme circumstances,” Moody’s vice president Charlie O’Shea said of Amazon’s blockbuster rise.
What were the results?
The e-commerce firm’s sales surged 40% for the three months ending 30 June to $88.9bn (£67.9bn) – its strongest year-on-year growth in years. Profits rose to $5.2bn from 2.6bn for the same period in 2019.
Image copyright NurPhoto
Image caption
Amazon says it is running out of space due to a surge in online shopping orders
The flood of online shopping has strained the firm’s capacity. Amazon hired about 175,000 people in the quarter and is working to expand its warehouse space in anticipation of continued growth.
“We’ve run out of space,” chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky said on a call with analysts about the results.
Meanwhile, Apple said quarterly revenues jumped 11% year-on-year to $59.7bn.
The shift to remote work and school helped drive demand for new devices, such as Macs and iPads, both of which saw double-digit gains. Profits hit $11.25bn, up from $10bn in the same period a year ago.
Apple said the release of the low-cost iPhone SE in April had helped to boost sales and put the electronics giant in a better position, despite the financial impacts of the coronavirus crisis.
“The last few months have underlined the importance of users – and households alike – to own better quality devices, connections and services,” said Paolo Pescatore, tech analyst at PP Foresight. “Apple smashed it.”
At Facebook, revenues rose 11% – slower than other quarters – but were still ahead of analysts’ expectations, as small businesses continued to turn to the company to advertise. The firm’s profits hit almost $5.2bn for the quarter.
Could a boycott kill Facebook?
Amazon v EU: Has the online giant met its match?
The resilience was helped by a spike in users, which makes the firm attractive to advertisers, said Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The firm said 2.4 billion people were active on its social media platforms and messaging apps on average in June, up 15% from last year. That included nearly 1.79 billion daily active users on Facebook, up 12% year-on-year.
As lockdowns have eased, Facebook said it was “seeing signs of normalisation in user growth and engagement”, warning those figures could flatten or decline in the months to come.
Ms Lund-Yates said the firm also remains vulnerable to social and political pressure, which could just as quickly push users away again.
“But this isn’t the first time Facebook’s navigated regulatory or social speed bumps, and it has deep pockets to throw at fixing problems,” she said.
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Google’s offices in New York City, boarded up to prevent looting in June
Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube, was the weakest of the four.
The search giant said revenues were $38.3bn, down 2% from a year ago, as businesses cut back on ad spending.
It was the first year-on-year decline in quarterly revenue for the search giant, since Google became a publicly-listed company in 2004.
Profits dropped about 30% year-on-year to roughly $7bn. But even those falls failed to faze analysts, who had expected damage.
“We expected April to be the bottom of the digital ad market, with a return to growth in May and June, and these results suggest that acceleration was stronger than expected,” eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin said.
Image caption
Kendall Jenner promoted a product that appears to be a clone of Apple’s AirPods
Kylie and Kendall Jenner are amongst dozens of influencers BBC Click has discovered to be promoting the sale of imitation Apple AirPods on Instagram.
The two celebrities have a combined following of 322 million followers.
Apple believes such cloned earphones may infringe its intellectual property rights, but is not pursuing a case against the two sisters.
However, the firm has taken previous action against influencers it believed to be hawking “knock-off” AirPods.
Kylie and Kendall Jenner declined to comment.
Lookalike tech
Click’s investigation uncovered dozens of social media influencers promoting clones of Apple Airpods and Apple Watches.
The influencers do not hold stock of the goods themselves. Rather they promote links to websites where anonymous sellers ship the products directly from China.
The products typically may be indistinguishable for the genuine items at first glance, but feature different brand names on their packaging and sometimes deliver a poor user experience.
Promotion of such products can be regarded as being a copyright and trademark infringement under UK law, if the knock-offs are deemed to look similar enough to the legitimate items.
The national co-ordinator for the UK’s National Trading Standards eCrime team said that if influencers were found to be promoting knock-off products, in the first instance they would be informed of consumer laws, but if they continued then “formal action” would be considered.
“We would be concerned that some consumers, swayed by the power of social influencers, and the overall look and feel of the websites, might be misled into thinking they are buying genuine Apple AirPods,” Mike Andrews said.
Instagram itself has told the BBC that influencers must follow local laws and vet brands before agreeing to paid partnerships.
Drop shipping
The vendors behind the products are known as drop shippers – a kind of intermediary who doesn’t make or even see the products they sell, and uses influencers to promote them.
Image caption
Kylie Jenner promoted one product via her Instagram account, the image was then copied and republished by others
They typically source their products from online Chinese marketplaces and have them sent directly to consumers.
‘You can have a massive business without ever going to China,” Kevin David, a drop shipper based in Miami told Click.
“I’ve personally sent millions of dollars to China. I’ve gotten millions and millions of dollars of products and I’ve never even been to China.”
He added: “Those Airpods, some of my personal friends make hundreds of thousands a month selling those.”
Whilst legal, drop shipping is open to abuse with reports of:
products not being delivered
refunds not being given
websites suddenly being shut down
“All you need is an internet connection and a website and you’re ready to go,” commented Sanchit Jain, an e-commerce analyst, from the consultancy Ender Analysis.
“The downside is that people get conned, don’t get what they paid for and are misled. It really is the Wild West, especially because you are easily able to create a new store as and when you please.”
Apple told BBC it was aware that drop shipping contributed to counterfeit sales and allowed bad actors to remain anonymous.
It added that its teams “are continually adapting to counterfeiters’ latest tactics”.
BBC Click’s investigation will be broadcast on the BBC News Channel on Saturday and will also appear on iPlayer
Charities are calling on the chancellor to protect the jobs of workers who have been shielding during the pandemic.
A total of 15 charities have warned in an open letter that workers will be forced to choose between health and their jobs, when restrictions ease.
“Some of these workers will find themselves in an impossible position,” the letter says.
A government spokesperson said that the government had “worked tirelessly” to support the clinically vulnerable.
From 1 August, extremely clinically vulnerable people who have stayed at home to protect themselves from coronavirus in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are allowed to return to work.
But charities including Age UK and Macmillan Cancer Support have said that these employees could be at risk of being made redundant, or returning to the workplace when they do not feel it is safe.
More than two million people deemed extremely vulnerable to coronavirus are shielding in England. About 595,000 of those people usually work, according to the charities.
“Our concern is that, especially as your furlough arrangements start to unwind and the shielding scheme is paused from next week, some of these workers will find themselves in an impossible position,” the charities write in the letter.
“This is because if their occupation is one which they cannot carry out from home, and if it is extremely difficult to make their workplace safe for them, they may be forced to choose between putting their health on the line by returning, or staying safe by giving up their job.”
The charities say this is “desperately unfair” for those who have made “great sacrifices” by staying at home, and call on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to take action and protect their jobs, as well as supporting businesses.
A spokesman for the Treasury said: “We understand how challenging the outbreak pandemic has been for the clinically vulnerable and we have worked tirelessly to support them.
“Employers must ensure the safety of those with such conditions when considering working arrangements, including whether work can be completed remotely.”
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption
Some people have been shielding since March
He added that the Treasury had also announced £750m in funding for charities to enable them to continue their important work, ensuring those on the front line are able to reach people who need help.
‘Impossible task’
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK and a signatory of the letter, said: “No-one should be faced with the impossible task of choosing between their health, by returning to work in an unsafe environment, and their financial security.
“The government must ensure that employers are supported to take all the necessary measures to keep all employees safe, if they are expected to attend work outside their home.
He added that the government should introduce a new support scheme for clinically vulnerable people who are unable to return to a safe work environment.
Employers have been told to make sure that people who are shielding can work from home wherever possible, including moving them to another role if required, according to government guidance.
If bosses cannot provide a safe working environment, those who are clinically vulnerable will be able to access financial support including statutory sick pay and welfare payments, it has said.
The charities’ letter also suggests extending the furlough scheme for those who have been shielding or are at high-risk.
Currently, the UK’s coronavirus furlough scheme is set to finish at the end of October.
The latest figures show that 9.5 million people are using the scheme, at a total cost of £31.7bn to the Treasury.
Image caption
A British challenger tank, photographed during Nato exercises in Latvia in June
Hackers have broken into real news websites and posted fake stories stirring up anti-Nato sentiment, a cyber-security firm has warned.
The disinformation campaign, nicknamed “ghostwriter”, has been ongoing since 2017, according to FireEye researchers.
It is designed to “chip away” at support for Nato in Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland, they said.
While the false stories are “aligned with Russian security interests”, it is not known who is behind the attack.
The disinformation campaign uses “falsified news articles, quotes, correspondence and other documents designed to appear as coming from military officials and political figures in the target countries,” FireEye said.
In some cases, false news stories were posted on real news websites without permission.
News websites typically use a content management system (CMS) to handle the large number of articles published.
The attackers apparently gained access to the CMS of the target website and replaced old articles with their own content, or posted entirely new false articles.
They would try to spread the fake stories on social media before they were taken down.
In one example from last year, a Lithuanian news site published a fake article claiming that German soldiers had desecrated a Jewish cemetery.
In another, a fake message was posted to the Polish War Studies Academy website, claiming to be from the organisation’s commander. It called for troops to fight against “the American occupation”.
Those attacks were complemented by other methods – such as opinion pieces and blog posts written by non-existent “journalists”, and fake emails designed to look like they had come from government officials, military officers or journalists.
Some of the attacks had previously been reported by national authorities.
But FireEye’s report collected the various individual attacks into what it said was a “broader influence campaign”.
There have been rising tensions between Russia and several Nato members in recent years.
Poland has sought to have the United States forge a permanent military base in the country, while Russia says the arrival of US troops on rotation there in recent years is a threat to its security.
Lithuania, once a part of the Soviet Union, has said it is concerned about a potential threat from Russia, and announced plans to build a fence around the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
Latvia has a large and vocal ethnic Russian population. A pro-Russia party won the most votes in the 2018 election, though it did not enter government.
Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are all members of Nato, which was founded after World War Two to balance the threat of communist expansion from the Soviet Union into Europe.
