Article by Sam Williams for KentOnline - published 9 December 2020 Fears have been raised over how disinformation being spread on social media could dissuade some people from taking the record-breaking Covid-19 vaccine. Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone and Hythe, says it will be 'a matter of personal choice' whether people accept the vaccine or not, but he hopes […]
Article by Joe Wright for KentOnline - published 9 December 2020 MPs are urgently calling on the government to provide a £400 million boost to improve the scandal-hit East Kent Hospitals Trust. In a letter penned to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, they stress the state of healthcare is "impossible" to turn around unless given a significant […]
Article by Matthew Chapman for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism - published 8 December 2020 Mark Zuckerberg threatened to pull Facebook’s investment from the UK in a private meeting with Matt Hancock, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism can reveal. The minutes, from May 2018, show that an obsequious Hancock was eager to please, offering “a […]
Article by Sarah Marsh for The Guardian - published 7 December 2020 TikTok has launched an investigation and banned some search terms after the Guardian found harmful pro-anorexia content was still easily searchable despite measures taken by the social media company to prohibit the advertising of weight-loss products. The video app – one of the […]
Article by Brian Fung for CNN Business - published 2 December 2020 A British member of Parliament blasted Facebook on Wednesday over its handling of anti-vaccine content and warned that the social media platform risks undermining Covid-19 vaccines just as vaccination programs are getting underway. “Today in the UK, the Pfizer vaccine has received regulatory approval and the […]
Article for the Guardian by Alex Hern - published 24 November 2020 The information commissioner has criticised the “antiquated process” that led to Facebook getting hold of Cambridge Analytica’s servers before the UK regulator itself, and renewed calls for an international approach to data privacy to tackle the emerging threat of data havens. Elizabeth Denham, […]
Article by Ben Burrows for The Independent - published 23 November 2020 Outdoor grassroots sport will return when national lockdown measures are lifted next month. Prime minister Boris Johnson confirmed the move in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday where he outlined the next phase of restrictions. Grassroots sport, that has been […]
Article by Sean Axtell for KentOnline - published 22 November 2020 MPs are intensifying calls on the government to swing open church doors amid the pandemic for the Christmas period and beyond. The five Kent Tories today joined ranks with more than 70 Conservatives in a bid to forge forward with the controversial new measures. Churches and […]
Article by Sam Williams for KentOnline - published 9 November 2020 Nearly 5,000 small boats carrying asylum seekers have been prevented from reaching the UK this year, it has been revealed. French authorities successfully stopped the crossings in the English Channel as part of their work to reduce the number of people attempting to make […]
Article published 3 November 2020 Grassroots youth sport should be able to continue throughout the Government's planned second national lockdown for the benefit of children's mental and physical health, says Damian Collins MP. Collins, who chaired the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee between October 2016 and January 2020, has written to the Secretary […]