NEWS
Ministers flatly reject Tory demands to end Covid controls by May
Downing Street is pushing back against pressure from Conservative MPs to set a swift timetable to end the lockdown in England after meeting its first major vaccination target, saying any hastiness in reopening could risk undoing the progress made in combating the coronavirus pandemic. In a sign of the likely battle ahead in the coming weeks, ministers and officials flatly ruled out a demand from Tory backbenchers for all Covid restrictions to be over by the start of May, saying any plan needed to be both more cautious and decided step by step — Guardian
Pub bosses hit out at outdoor drinking plan: Landlords demand to be allowed to reopen their doors from early April and blast calls for only al-fresco service as ‘laughable’ — Mail
Universities will be fined for ‘no-platforming’ speakers — Times
‘Archie is going to be a big brother!’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reveal that they are expecting a second child — Mail
Amazon couriers ‘are earning just £1.83 an hour and are forced to break speed limits to hit targets of delivering up to 250 packages a day’ — Mail
BLM activist fired from US library after allegedly burning books by conservative authors — Epoch Times
COMMENT
Ministers must never again be free to impose crippling restrictions without proper scrutiny — Steve Baker, Telegraph
The answer to Scotland lies in tackling the English question — Nick Timothy, Telegraph
