EU and UK ‘should put relations first’
THE European Union’s top official urged both sides to think about their long-term relationship and put an end to the bloc’s spat with the UK over post-brexit trade arrangements.
Lengthy negotiations over Britain’s divorce from the EU have already been complicated, and the practical separation between the former partners proves to be a thorny issue, too.
In their latest feud, the EU is angry over the British Government’s delay in implementing new checks on some goods coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, as was agreed upon in the Brexit deal. On the other hand, Britain says those checks are imposing a big burden on UK businesses and destabilising Northern Ireland’s peace.
“I’ve always said I want a new beginning with old friends,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday.
“We see that at the beginning now there are difficulties, and there are serious issues that have to be solved. I’m deeply convinced, with a constructive approach, and with the notion that we know it’s a longterm relationship we are building here, these issues just can be overcome.”
At the heart of their dispute lies the Northern Ireland protocol, a Brexit mechanism that created a trade border in the Irish Sea to avoid creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
An open Irish border helped underpin the peace process that ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
“We know that the withdrawal agreement and the protocol are the best we could have gotten in a complicated situation,” Ms Von der Leyen said. “Now it’s our duty on both sides to make sure that it works and to implement it.”
The bloc is threatening legal action if the UK does not fully bring in the checks, which include a ban on chilled meats from England, Scotland and Wales going to Northern Ireland beginning next month.
US president Joe Biden has even been drawn into the spat, raising concerns about the potential threat to Northern Ireland’s peace accord.
Relations between the EU and the UK have been strained since a Brexit transition period ended on January 1.
The two sides have also argued so far this year over issues ranging from Covid-19 vaccine supplies to the full diplomatic recognition of the EU in Britain.
PASSENGERS have been warned of ‘Metro misery’ by a union over train maintenance strikes they say will impact on rail travel across the region.
Unite issued the warning after its members employed by Swiss rail giant Stadler voted for strike action in response to the company implementing a pay freeze.
Around 30 Unite members, in coordination with RMT members also taking industrial action against Stadler’s wage freeze, will strike on June 28, 29 and 30 as well as July 1, 2, 3 and 4. An overtime ban will also begin on July 5.
In October 2020, Stadler won a £300m contract to build 42 new Metro trains, rebuild the Gosforth depot and maintain the Nexus Tyne and Wear train stock for 35 years.
Unite said the “multi-billionpound company” has initiated the pay freeze despite recording an “eight per cent increase in net profits during 2020”.
The union also said Stadler’s 2020 annual report also states that the division responsible for its Tyne and Wear operations brought in a ‘record 1.46 billion Swiss francs (£1.2billion) in 2020.
Unite regional coordinating officer Suzanne Reid said: “The responsibility for these strikes, which will cause Metro misery for the travelling public during the height of the summer, sits squarely with Stadler.
“Stadler is in excellent financial health and has benefited from the hard work of our members who maintained the Metro stock 24/7 right through the pandemic.
“The very least they deserve is a reasonable pay rise, but instead Stadler has chosen to hoard its considerable profits and freeze their wages.”
A Nexus spokesperson said: “Stadler, which maintains Metro’s train fleet, has advised us that a contingency plan is in place so Metro can continue to operate during days of industrial action by its employees from the Unite and RMT unions. We are encouraging both sides in this dispute to seek a resolution as soon as possible.”
A Stadler spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that RMT and Unite members at Gosforth depot have chosen to undertake strike action...
“We are keen to see this dispute resolved quickly and have stressed to the unions that we are always open to discussions with them, so that a solution can be found for the benefit of our staff and the passengers we serve.”
THE conditions of jail cells at a Tyneside court have been slammed as “unacceptably poor”.
The damning verdict comes in a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons published into court custody facilities across Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria.
It said: “Conditions in cells varied considerably, from very good at Teesside Crown Court to unacceptably poor at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
“Records showed that staff at all custody suites conducted daily cell checks, but we observed that these mainly involved checking the operation of the cell call bell and removing litter; too often, staff did not pay attention to the physical condition of the cell, in terms of cleanliness, safety and decoration.
“Overall, we considered that conditions remained inadequate. Some facilities were old and had not been well maintained.”
It added: “We found that some cells were not cleaned between uses, which was particularly unacceptable during a pandemic.”
They also identified potential ligature points which could have been avoided with better maintenance, but others were inherent in the design of the cell. A lack of natural light was also criticised. The authors of the report recommended that conditions across custody facilities should be improved.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief of Prisons, said that despite some serious concerns “this was a reasonably good inspection, overall, and we found a number of positive features.
“Detainees were consistently treated
with respect and spoke positively about their experience in court custody. The health care provision had improved considerably, was responsive and was appreciated both by detainees and staff.”
The report noted: “Staff were calm and patient, and skilfully defused tense situations. Force was used relatively infrequently against detainees and we were confident that it was used only as a last resort.”
Arrangements for dealing with the relatively few children held in court custody delivered good care.
Following the substantial curtailment of court business at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, activity in court custody had broadly returned to pre-pandemic levels by the time of the inspection.
Inspectors found that the three main agencies responsible for the provision of court custody had worked well together to amend working practices aimed at minimising the transmission of the virus.
A few areas, however, gave cause for serious concern, Mr Taylor said. “The multi-agency relationships and communication that are so important in delivering good outcomes for detainees were not always effective.”
He added: “It was disappointing that women, and some children, often shared transportation with men and were not always adequately protected from verbal abuse.”
A HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman said: “This report rightly praises the hard work of staff managing the restrictions during the pandemic, we acknowledge that facilities vary across this area and are acting on recommendations to improve conditions.”