Latest news with #NickThomasSymonds
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Minsters beg European countries to allow Britons to use e-gates ahead of summer holiday exodus
Ministers are begging European countries to allow Britons to use e-gates before the summer holidays because the deal agreed with Brussels will not start soon enough. Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has written to European counterparts including Greece urging them to allow Brits to use e-gates 'now'. In a letter to Greece's deputy foreign minister, he wrote: 'It would be greatly appreciated if Greece could also offer access to e-gates where they are available at the border as soon as possible, including on a temporary basis now.' Mr Thomas-Symonds added: 'Being able to use e-gates at Greece's airports would be a significant symbol of the friendship our two countries share.' Announcing his reset with Brussels, Sir Keir Starmer said the move to allow British travellers to use European e-gates was one of the key elements of the deal. The Government said there would not be any legal barriers to British travellers using more e-passport gates in EU countries. The Prime Minster said: 'This partnership helps British holidaymakers, who will be able to use e-gates when they travel to Europe, ending those huge queues at passport control.' But the Association of British Travel Agents has said the deal 'won't impact this summer'. British tourists are expected to have to endure passport-stamping queues in most EU countries until at least October and possibly well into 2026 as the e-gates implementation will be phased. So ministers have started asking the individual countries instead to allow early access to their e-gates. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: 'The Prime Minister has lied to British public yet again. 'His claim that he joyfully made on Monday that British tourists would benefit from his EU surrender agreement by getting through e-gates when they travel to Europe was just another blatant Starmer lie. 'The facts are as follows: Europe has followed in Britain's footsteps by developing an electronic entry and exit system and this has been under way for a number of years and is due to fully launch in October. 'It is a fact that some airports already allow UK passport holders to use e-gates, and this new agreement doesn't guarantee anything further. 'Each EU country retains the right to decide individually, meaning there's no certainty, no timeline, and no real improvement secured.'
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Somerset infected blood victim critical of compensation delay
A woman who contracted hepatitis C after being given an infected blood transfusion has said it is "hard to keep going" while she waits for government Busby, 74, who lives in Street, Somerset, has accused the government of "apathy" over its treatment of infected blood is still waiting for details of the compensation she will receive more than a year after the end of a public inquiry and the government's announcement of a compensation government has offered its sympathies to Ms Busby and said it would work "at pace" to ensure compensation was paid. It is thought 30,000 patients in the UK were infected with HIV or hepatitis B and C after being treated with a contaminated blood clotting product or given a blood transfusion in the 1970s and is thought around 2,900 people have died as a result of the Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said earlier this month it was "profoundly unsatisfactory" that just 106 final compensation awards have been paid, a year after the damning report into the scandal was Busby contracted hepatitis C after a blood transfusion in 1971, following complications from previously said she felt like her life "had been stolen" by her illness and ongoing battle for weeks of the May 2024 announcement, Ms Busby received an interim payment but has not heard anything more or received any further compensation. 'Tiny burning hot pins' Ms Busby said: "I think it's awful, cold-hearted, shocking and a Labour government was really saying it wanted to help. And then they got into power and it's hardly spoken of."I can't plan anything. I've got things that I'm doing that I'm paying for that and I'm relying on that money to come in. So it's quite scary for me. And it's difficult, very difficult."I've got all these things that have happened to me, the worst one is peripheral neuropathy and it's like thousands of tiny burning hot pins being rammed into your feet and your legs 24/7."I take drugs like fentanyl. I don't want to. I want to be alive and alert - and you're not really, you're not your full self at all." Last month Ms Busby's MP, Sarah Dyke raised her case in the House of Commons."Her case is truly heart-breaking, so what assurance can the minister provide to people like Hazel that they will soon be supported?" she Mr Thomas-Symonds said: "I express my sympathy and, I am sure, that of the whole house to Hazel in respect of what she has been through. "The assurance I give is that this government will act at pace. That is what we did in putting the first set of regulations in place by 24 August last year and by putting the second set of regulations in place by 31 March this year. "I continue to stand ready to help and support IBCA (Infected Blood Compensation Authority), which is operationally independent, in any way that I can to speed up the payments.' In a further statement to the House of Commons on 14 May, Mr Thomas-Symonds said payments totalling more than £96 million had so far been made by the said the IBCA plans to contact an average of 100 people every week to begin their claims."I recognise that for many in the community, the government's actions come after decades have passed,' he said."There is nothing that can put right the damage done by inaction on the part of multiple previous governments, and it is not my intention for this statement to diminish that. "My priority now is focusing on delivering meaningful change to ensure that the scandal of infected blood, among many other scandals, is never allowed to happen again.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Infected blood compensation needs to be faster, campaigners say
Compensation for infected blood victims needs to be delivered faster, campaigners have said on the first anniversary of a public inquiry report into what has been described as the worst treatment disaster in NHS history."We are dying at pace, the government needs to be working at pace, not just talking about it," one campaigner said on Tuesday as a letter calling for action was handed in to the prime Johnson, a minister who for years as a Labour MP supported victims of the scandal, said it was "disappointing" to hear how slow process had Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas Symonds said the government was "committed to delivering compensation as swiftly as possible". More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV or hepatitis C or both after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. Around 3,000 people have his final report released one year ago, inquiry chair Sir Brian Langstaff said the scandal had been largely avoidable and involved systemic had expected rapid compensation, but so far only 100 people have received payouts. They gathered at Westminster on Tuesday to hand in a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, stating their concern at the lack of progress. "Twelve months on from the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry's devastating report, there remains deep concern from the contaminated blood community that politics is continuing to fail them," the letter said."As the Infected Blood Inquiry heard when it reconvened hearings on 7 May 2025, the community's voice was absent when the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme was drawn up. The resulting scheme contains fundamental flaws, which could and would have been foreseen." Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Diana Johnson MP, who is now a Home Office Minister, told BBC News that she appreciated the concerns of campaigners and sympathised with their argument."It's disappointing to hear just how slow the process is though, and I fully appreciate the concerns that so many people who are gathered today are making about wanting to get those payments out to people," she said."We know on average someone dies every couple of weeks, so this has to be paid. But the money is there."When asked whether she could use her position as minister to make their case she said she was speaking to the BBC as a constituency Wrixton, who was infected with hepatitis C as the result of a blood transfusion, said: "It's been a year since the euphoria of the recommendations, and yet, as an infected person... the statistics that roughly two a week are dying, we've still not got payment."We are dying at pace, the government needs to be working at pace, not just talking about it. We need to see the actions."Cabinet Office minister Thomas–Symonds said: "The victims of this scandal have suffered unspeakably."After decades of delay, it has fallen to this government to act. We are acting on the inquiry's 12 recommendations, so that this never happens again, and to get justice for victims."While no amount of compensation will make up for the suffering people have endured, we are committed to delivering compensation as swiftly as possible."
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Britons are to gain access to European airport e-gates (but there's a catch)
British holidaymakers should experience shorter queues at European airports after the Government negotiated an agreement for UK passport holders to use e-gates across the European Union. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the European Union Relations minister, told the BBC that the agreement will grant British travellers 'more time to spend on holiday or work trips… doing what you want, not being stuck in queues'. Here is everything you need to know about how the new e-gate rules will impact your holidays, and when they will likely come into effect. Why do UK passport holders need to join a slower queue? Since the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, British passport holders have been considered as 'visa-exempt third-country nationals' when arriving or departing EU countries. This means UK citizens have the same rights as passport holders from Australia and Venezuela. At most EU airports British passport holders have to join the (slower) 'other nations' queue on arrival. UK travellers also currently face additional checks when departing EU countries. Many British holidaymakers will experience considerably longer processing times at airports. The reason for this is that since Brexit, EU border officials have been required to manually check that UK arrivals have sufficient means of subsistence, that their visit will not exceed the stay limit of 90 days over a 180-day period, and that the passenger has 'the means to return to the country of origin'. The guard must also now stamp the British passport. It is worth noting that, since Brexit, travellers with EU passports arriving into the UK have continued to have access to e-gates across UK airports. What exactly does the new agreement say on this matter? The wording is as follows: 'The United Kingdom and the European Commission will continue their exchanges on smooth border management for the benefit of their citizens, including the potential use of e-gates where appropriate. 'They note that European Union citizens can use e-gates in the United Kingdom and that there will be no legal barriers to e-gate use for British Nationals traveling to and from European Union Member States after the introduction of the European Union Entry/Exit System.' So what will actually change at EU airports? The agreement means that UK passport holders will be able to use e-gates previously reserved for arrivals from EU or European Economic Area countries (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland). Some airports may opt to introduce new, special 'third-country nationals' e-gates to speed up the facial recognition part of the process. Others may allow UK passport holders to use existing EU e-gates. When will UK passport holders have access to e-gates at EU airports? According to the agreement the barriers preventing UK passenger access to e-gates will end after the introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) (see below). After multiple delays it is expected that the EES will be rolled out from October 2025. Widespread change is unlikely to come into effect in time for the 2025 summer holidays. Some European countries are already rolling out more e-gates at their airports in a bid to reduce passenger processing time. Others already allow UK passport holders to use e-gates. Rome Fiumicino has special 'third-country national' e-gates in operation, and at Amsterdam Schiphol and Lisbon UK passengers are allowed to use the same e-gates as EU citizens, before going on for manual border official checks. What is the EU Entry/Exit System? Under the Entry/Exit System (EES), e-gates will capture fingerprints and facial scans of non-EU citizens entering the Schengen bloc, replacing the need for manual passport checks and stamps. This means that, on first entry into an EU country, third-country nationals including UK passport holders will need to provide facial biometrics and fingerprints. Some fear this could lead to significant hold-ups at European airports after EES is rolled out. However, once the process is up and running, UK passport holders should be able to proceed through an e-gate without any further checks. Separately, UK passport holders will soon have to get an Etias 'euro visa' (expected to come into effect six months after the EES). The visa waiver will come with a one-off €7 fee
The Sun
19-05-2025
- The Sun
Major new airport rules to make travelling to Europe MUCH easier – what Starmer's new Brexit deal means for your holiday
BRITS heading to Europe could soon find it much easier thanks to new plans allowing holidaymakers to use airport e-gates. Since the UK left the EU, British tourists have faced huge queues at the airport across Europe after being forced to use the standard passport gates. 3 3 However, the UK government has revealed plans of a deal that would allow UK holidaymakers to use the much faster e-gates when visiting Europe. The talks, part of the UK-EU summit taking place today, suggest Brits would join other EU tourists in the shorter queues, The Guardian reports. EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said he backed the potential rule change. He told Sky News: "I would love to see you being able to go through the border more quickly in that way. "That's certainly something we've been pushing with the EU and I think that will be something that will be very helpful to British people. "I think we can all agree that not being stuck in queues and having more time to spend, whether it's on holiday or work trips, having more time to do what you want, would be a very sensible objective." Plans to allow Brits to use e-gates in European countries were put forward back in 2023 by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak although never came into fruition. Last summer, some Brits even missed their flights when travelling through Spain due to long passport queues while waiting to get them stamped. Another Brit wrote on Tripadvisor: "My lunchtime arrival at Oslo left me with an hour and a half wait to get through manual passport control." Another agreed: "The queue was horrendous, people couldn't even get into the passport hall. Took just over 90 minutes to get through." UK airport reveals new security rules for passengers However, the new rules could cause problems with passport stamping, which is still required from Brits entering and exiting Europe. This is because of the new rules which only allow Brits to visit for 90 days in an 180 day period. Anyone without an outgoing stamp could be mistakenly seen to have overstayed in Europe and even be banned from entering - which happened to a British tourist in Majorca back in 2022. But it comes ahead of the c onstantly-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) which will scrap the need for passport stamping entirely. First announced in 2016, it finally hopes to be rolled out from October this year. Instead of manual passport stamping, new biometric checks will take place instead. What would the new rules mean for British holidaymakers? The Sun's Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in. WHATEVER your views on the latest deal with the EU, there's no doubt having access to e-gates in European airports can only be a good thing. Since Brexit, British travellers have had to queue up and have their passports checked - and stamped - by customs officers. This has led to lengthy queues - particularly at peak travel times like the school holidays. So a return to being able to use the e-Gates at EU airports can only be a good thing. But - and it's a big BUT - we still will have to provide biometric details, a scan of our eyes and fingerprints, on our first visit to the EU once the new European Entry Exit System comes into force. The much delayed new system - first announced in 2016 - is due to be rolled out from November this year. So there is still the potential for significant disruption once that is brought in. But going forward the chance to once more glide through e-gates alongside our fellow EU travellers can only be a good thing! And next year will see the roll out of the ETIAS - a visa waiver that Brits will need to visit Europe. Costing around €7 and lasting three years, it will be similar to the current ESTA Brits need when visiting the US. 3
