Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BANG GOES THE BRITISH SAUSAGE?
Red tape over Brexit could put mealtime favourites through the grinder
SAUSAGES and mince from Great Britain could be off the table after another layer of Brexit red tape associated with the Northern Ireland Protocol comes into effect.
The UK Government-designed export health certificates to allow such products to enter are only temporary, as from July 1 they are set to be banned from the region altogether under strict EU laws on animal and plant health.
Sausages, mince and pate-type products made in GB are currently only allowed into Northern Ireland under the terms of a six-month grace period.
That will expire at the end of June unless the EU and UK can strike a deal on the issue in the interim.
Bans on other GB agri-food products – including seed potatoes, certain seeds and plants potted in soil – have already been in force since the start of the year.
Under the terms of the protocol, which governs the movement of goods in and out of the region post-brexit, all non-prohibited agri-food goods arriving from GB require an EU export health certificate declaring they pose no risk.
They are a consequence of a Brexit deal that has resulted in Northern Ireland remaining in the EU single market for goods while the rest of the UK has left that regulatory zone.
There are hundreds of different types of EHCS, with different forms for different products – and some having multiple certificate versions.
As sausages and other chilled meat products are not ordinarily allowed to be imported into the EU under the bloc’s tight sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, there is no EHC covering those goods.
As a result, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has developed its own temporary version to satisfy EU requirements during the six-month grace period when their import is still permitted. There was no initial requirement for certifications on these restricted products when the Protocol came into operation on December 31 after the Brexit transition period ended.
On Monday that changed, with traders now requiring Defra’s version of an EHC for sausages and mince.
Aside from those prohibited list items, from December 31 EHCS have been required for non-retail agri-food products entering Northern Ireland from GB.
That has included unprocessed food stuffs – such as chicken carcasses, tankers of milk and sides of beef – being imported into the region to undergo processing. Retail products have been exempted from this requirement under a grace period that will expire on April 1.
From that date, Gb-made agri-food products that are usually found on supermarket and shop shelves in Northern Ireland will need an EHC to be shipped to the region.
This includes all food of animal origin, some foods of non-animal origin (nuts, spices etc), live plants, other plant-based products and fish. Live animals and animal-based food products require a vet to sign off the EHCS.
During the three-month grace period for retail produce, traders have instead been asked to complete a single operator declaration for each lorry-load of goods crossing the Irish Sea.
This is signed by a representative of the company shipping the goods, declaring they comply with EU standards and regulations.
The shipping requirements will increase dramatically from April 1 when EHCS will be required for individual agri-food product lines on a lorry.
Products going to multiple destinations will also require multiple certifications. There was no grace period on retail agri-food goods entering the Republic from GB and there is evidence those traders have already made such adaptations.
The DUP’S action will create futher uncertainty COLUM EASTWOOD YESTERDAY
DMUULS
Bono might be the epitome of cool as the front man of U2. But when it comes to daughter Eve Hewson’s acting career, he’s a typical gushy parent who can’t help boasting about her successes at any opportunity.
“I always say that my dad’s a crazy stage mother,” the 29-year-old laughs. “Whenever we’re out and about he’s always introducing me and talking about me and he gives my full movie credits to whoever we’re having dinner with.”
He certainly has a lot to tell them. The actress starred in BBC hit The Luminaries, as well as The Knick and movie Bridge of Spies. She also played Maid Marian in 2018’s Robin Hood with Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx and Jamie Dornan.
And now, she is taking centre stage in Netflix series Behind Her Eyes, a new thriller from the makers of The Crown.
Her parents were initially against her performing but are now very supportive – and Eve says she also gives her famous father advice.
She says: “My mom’s very supportive too. So that’s very nice. People always ask me, ‘What kind of advice did your dad give you?’ It’s more that I just ask him his opinion on many things rather than on one specific thing. We’re constantly giving each other advice, to be honest. I tell him all of my opinions about his career, so it’s a two-way street.”
Eve made her acting debut in 2005 at 14, alongside sister Jordan, 31, in short film Lost and Found. Her feature-length debut was in 2008’s The 27 Club. But she insists she doesn’t get special treatment because she’s Bono’s daughter.
“No one knows who I am and no one cares,” she says with a laugh. “I could jump in front of a cameraman and he’d just tell me to get out of the way.”
You’d imagine she listens to her 60-year-old dad’s music on set but it seems her taste differs from his. “I know some actors will only listen to music their character would listen to and that helps them get in the zone, but that doesn’t help me,” she says. “I like to just blast pop music on the way to work. And on the set I’m always playing Kelly Clarkson and Drake.
“I just like to have a good time and that helps me relax. So if it was up to me I would have a whole dance party on set in between takes.”
Eve, who lives in New York, was talking via Zoom from her temporary home in London – where she is holed up with her cat, having left her family in Dublin.
“I was with my family a few months and then I came to London by myself,” she says. “But I have a cat so she’s all the company I need.” The star, who has been in relationships with actors James
ROBIN HOOD
As Marian with Taron Egerton in 2018 film
Lafferty and Max Minghella, is currently unattached and seems happy with the situation.
“I have lots of friends in London so I’m not sitting in my house talking to the moon like a crazy person. I’ve been doing lots of walks, seeing friends when I can. But I don’t think it’s been that hard for actors as we’re used to just sitting around and not doing anything,” she laughs.
“Most actors are used to being unemployed, so it’s just been a longer phase, a lull in my career, I guess.”
Luckily, Eve is not currently in a lull with her new show, in which no one and nothing is what it seems.
She plays a psychiatrist’s wife who is embroiled in a dangerous web of secrets and an unconventional love triangle. And the role involves graphic sex scenes with co-star Tom Bateman, which didn’t
bother her. “I have had a lot of experience doing sex scenes,” says Eve, who played a prostitute in The Luminaries.
“But this was probably one of the best experiences as we had an intimacy coach who was working on Normal People at the same time and I thought her work was beautiful.
“It was done in a very sensitive way and the only thing you can hope for in sex scenes is your partner is someone you get along with. Thankfully, I absolutely love Tom Bateman. We’re close friends, so I felt comfortable and it ended up being an OK situation.”
The intimacy coach, she says, teaches actors to “use their bodies to make shapes and make stories” as well as being there to be a sort of mediator between the actors and the director. “It wasn’t an issue on our set but
sometimes directors can be inappropriate or don’t know how to communicate what they want,” Eve explains.
“So she is the one interpreting what the director wants to the actors but also protecting the actors and making sure they feel comfortable.
“I can’t believe I’ve done sex scenes before where there wasn’t an intimacy coordinator. She’s very, very valuable.”
Without giving away any secrets – and the series has plenty – dreams and nightmares play a part in the story, which is appropriate for Eve.
“I grew up with really terrible nightmares,” she says. “I think that’s sort of what sparked my imagination as a kid, so I’ve had them my whole life.”
Then she adds in mock horror: “I had a nightmare about Hugh Grant last night. I like to look up my dreams when I wake up to see what they mean. That’s why I love that aspect of the show.” Eve also had to learn about astral projection for one plot twist.
“I’m not really into spirits and the other world but we did a crash course in astral projection with this woman.
“She gave us a lecture, then we did meditation and listened to music, and she walked us through the experience.
“We were lying on the floor and she said, ‘You’ll feel like you’re peeling out of your body, sort of moving through glue,’ and I managed to get my head out of my body. Then I woke up and realised I was still lying down but I felt like I was sitting up. But I don’t know if that’s to do with how powerful your brain is or if it really is astral projection. I haven’t decided what that experience was but it was definitely fun.”
Eve’s role also calls for some furiously angry outbursts – so she used a bat and a pillow to get in the mood.
“Whenever I had big high-intensity scenes, I would smash the pillow before a take. It helped me get into the mindset of someone that upset.”
Bono might want to look away for the steamy scenes – but Behind Her Eyes is another title he can add when he’s reeling off Eve’s acting credentials.
It started shaking and going down. I thought we were done PASSENGER DAVID DELUCIA ON HIS ORDEAL
A JET’S engine exploded at 15,000ft minutes after take-off, terrifying passengers and raining debris over a community.
Flight UA328 was carrying 241 people when it faced disaster on Saturday – but the pilot managed to make an injuries-free landing that investigators have described as a miracle.
The United Airlines Boeing 777 had just left Denver International in Colorado, bound for Hawaii, when its right engine blew. And despite wreckage crashing down on properties in the
Broomfield neighbourhood, no one was hurt on the ground either. Many on the jet told of feeling the fire’s heat and fearing they would crash.
David Delucia, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said: “The plane started shaking violently, we started going down. I thought we were done.”
He said he had even got his ID from his bag to put in his pocket, to help identify his body.
United Airlines said the US’S National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
AN explosive device left in the street “could easily have detonated, or have been picked up by anyone – including children”.
Police are appealing for information following the security alert in Newry, Co Down, at the weekend.
A spokeswoman said: “A report of a suspicious object found in Ashgrove Road was made at around 3.30pm on Saturday. Police and ATO attended the scene and ATO carried out a controlled explosion.”
Supt Norman Haslett said: “As part of our public safety operation, a number of homes were evacuated.
“Some of the residents affected made use of the local leisure centre, as facilitated by the local council.
“Our enquiries are continuing and we are working to establish who is responsible for what can only be described as a reckless act. This device could easily have detonated, or have been picked up by anyone, including children. Someone could have suffered serious injury.
“I want to thank everyone inconvenienced by the alert. In particular, I want to thank the 15 families who had to leave their homes as we worked to make the scene safe.”
Local Sinn Fein MLA Liz Kimmins said: “This device put residents’ lives at risk. Families had to be evacuated from their homes on a cold winter afternoon as a result of this alert.
Those responsible for this device have nothing to offer and this is an attack on the entire community at a time when we should all be working together in the face of the public health crisis caused by Covid.
“Anyone who may have information should contact the police.”
Supt Haslett is appealing to anyone who has information which could help the police investigation to call 101 and quote reference number 1114 of 20/02/21.
PRINCE William is saddened by Harry and Meghan’s response to the Queen after losing their royal patronages, it is claimed.
The Duke of Cambridge was said to be “shocked” by his brother’s statement.
The Queen’s move came after it emerged the Sussexes had agreed to an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that Harry and Meghan would be losing their military and sporting patronages and could not continue “the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service”.
Courtiers and other family members were reportedly upset after the Sussexes responded: “Service is universal.”
A source close to the Queen was reported as saying the couple’s statement was “petulant and insulting”.
And sources close to William, 38, claim he believed his brother, 36, and Meghan, 39, had been “insulting and disrespectful” to the Queen and that William was “very upset by what has happened”.
However, one of the Sussexes’ longtime friends, Dean Stott, said the “service is universal” line should be “taken in context” of the couple’s charity work and philanthropy, which they will continue. The Us-based Scot said: “Their decision to step back gives them more opportunity and freedom to do more and help more.” The couple live in an £11million mansion in Montecito, California, and have not visited the UK for almost a year.
They recently announced Meghan is expecting their second child.
Their interview with chat show queen Oprah will be screened on network CBS on March 7 and a bidding war for the international rights is under way.
The Mirror understands the show is being re-edited because they spoke about their royal roles during recording last Tuesday.
A US TV insider said CBS bosses would even like to do reshoots so the couple can discuss the changes.
A source said: “It was never envisaged they would have their patronages taken away. They didn’t see it coming. Things have significantly changed for them since they eagerly sat for Oprah and poured their hearts out.”
Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday. The Queen only learned of the prime-time interview when CBS hurriedly put out a statement after a producer working for Oprah alerted ITV to the project.
They wanted access to news presenter Tom Bradby’s 2019 interview with Meghan in which she complained no one had asked her is if she was “OK”. It is usual for Royal Family members to run potential TV interviews past the Queen.
Harry and Meghan now have the opportunity and freedom to do more and help more DEAN STOTT LONG-TIME FRIEND OF HARRY AND MEGHAN
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