Leicester

Leicester must remain in lockdown but schools will be allowed to reopen, Matt Hancock confirms

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Leicester must remain in lockdown but schools will be allowed to reopen as coronavirus infection rate remains high, Matt Hancock announces Schools and early years education will be able to open again as normal But the city remains sealed off, with travel and home visits still banned The rules on shops reopening are less clear, … Read more

Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby says lockdown for 90% of the city is ‘unnecessary and unjustified’

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Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby says lockdown for 90% of the city is ‘unnecessary and unjustified’ as government prepares to decide ‘over next 24 hours’ whether to ease restrictions Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby wants the lock down across his city eased He said new figures show only 10 per cent has above average … Read more

Boohoo founder’s links to Leicester ‘slave’ factory revealed

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A co-founder of fashion retailer Boohoo has links to a factory in Leicester accused of paying staff less than the minimum wage, it has been revealed. The brand has confirmed that the factory at the heart of the ‘human trafficking and slavery’ allegations is run by Morefray Ltd, a Manchester-owned firm with ties to the I Saw … Read more

Police launch probe into fashion giant Boohoo’s Leicester factory

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Boohoo’s shares have plunged by £1.3 billion today after Priti Patel asked Britain’s FBI to investigate the fast fashion chain over claims they were using an alleged £3.50-an-hour sweatshop in Leicester to produce cheap clothing during the coronavirus pandemic. The Home Secretary has stepped in and instructed the National Crime Agency to probe the issues amid … Read more

Leicester mayor ‘was warned that clothing factories had no social distancing but failed to act’

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The Mayor of Leicester had been warned that some manufacturing companies were  breaching Covid-19 social distancing guidelines three months ago, a former minister has claimed.  Sir Peter Soulsby, 71, and his Labour councillors received a letter from politicians in the Conservative Party warning them of the ‘shuttered premises’ in which textile workers were operating in … Read more

I can tell you exactly why Leicester had to go back into lockdown

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My only surprise when the Government announced a local lockdown in Leicester last week was that it had taken so long. I have had grave and growing concerns that my city was heading for a severe Covid-19 outbreak because, since the end of April, lockdown here has been observed in name only. At first, when schools, … Read more

Investigation reveals Leicester clothes workers supplying Boohoo are paid as little as £3.50 an hour

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Clothes workers in Leicester are being paid as little as £3.50 an hour to produce items for some of the UK’s biggest fashion brands, an investigation has uncovered. At a factory named as Jaswal Fashions, where clothes at bound for online giant Boohoo and Nasty Gal, employees are said to work for less than half … Read more

Coronavirus UK: Police make checks at Leicester railway station

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Police carry out spot checks on ‘Leicester lepers’ arriving at city’s railway station as locked-down residents in Covid-hit city are banned from holiday parks, campsites and hotels By Danny Gallagher For Mailonline Published: 16:34 BST, 3 July 2020 | Updated: 16:50 BST, 3 July 2020 British transport police are now busy making checks at Leicester … Read more

‘Leicester lepers’ are BANNED from holiday parks

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Concerns of a ‘leper’ effect have emerged today after tourist destinations said they would turn away visitors from Leicester. Pentewan Sands holiday park near St Austell, Cornwall, said on Facebook it was no longer open to visitors from the East Midlands city. There have also been concerns in destinations near Leicester, with health officials in … Read more