In the headlines
There were 49,156 Covid cases in the UK yesterday, but “I’m actually more worried about influenza”, says Professor Paul Hunter on Newsnight. Because of lockdown, the UK hasn’t seen any flu cases for 18 months – and “the longer you wait between cases of influenza, the worse the illness”. The government is offering £5,000 grants to replace gas boilers with low-carbon heat pumps. Gas boilers should be gone by 2035, but Boris Johnson tells Sun readers: “The Greenshirts of the Boiler Police are not going to kick in your door with their sandal-clad feet and seize, at carrot-point, your trusty old combi.” Southend will be made a city to honour Sir David Amess. The murdered MP ended every speech, no matter what the topic, with: “And that’s why Southend should become a city!”