Taiwan, 80 miles from mainland China barred all flights from China at the end of January. Then in March as the virus spread elsewhere barred entry from everywhere else.

They have had no period of lockdown, the virus hasn’t took hold taking only 6 lives out of population of nearly 24 million. Life has continued as normal because they stopped it at the border.

You can still just walk through Heathrow from anywhere though as you have been able to throughout. More restrictions are in place to enter a supermarket elsewhere than to enter the UK. Bollocks to ‘the Science’ it’s basic common sense ignored.

The fact we live on an island has saved our bacon a few times and it sound incredible that our airports are this "open".
Would like to hear the official governmental reason for this.

the problem is, if you asked that question they would answer a different one. As they always do, and have at every 5pm update since this started. Only the likes of Piers Morgan appear to be trying to bring them to book. The BBC is just soft soap. Pathetic.

I think most people are there now. Anyone with a working brain will have realised by now.

The simple answer to that is get Piers to ask the questions on behalf of ITV.

‘The Science’ ladies and gentlemen;


https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ssion=true

I can’t click that. It’s got theguardian in it and my bias and bollocks avoidance filter is blocking it.

You will be able to click this though

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... 4ULVDGFuFw

Strange decision with the fruit pickers coming over..can't get me head round it.

And the furlough's can still work mr horden ?

Sherpa Vans.....yes the future

Remarkable read.

Our borders are still open and farmers can bring in as many eu workers they want so nothing has changed to fom.

Next year they will require a visa if the farmers require them.

I'm pretty sure that Un-named food producer would have filled them jobs ATM .there's million's out of work and bored..You and mr horden keep on banging about brexit all you like mate.

Should anyone like fruit pickers be flying anywhere.You can choose a different thread if it suits you pal?

So are you in for them coming over or not? ..It's not very clear with you lot??

It’s comical that people have been dismayed for weeks about our airports being open with people entering the UK without any checks whatsoever yet this fella only pipes up when some Romanians get flown in.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Any complaints from you about how the migrant workers are being treated in Doha PJ ?? Can't see anything in the press.

We’re being ‘treated’ fine thanks.

if those who are on this furlough thing were allowed to pick fruit on farms without losing their money from their normal job then there would be no need to fly people hundreds of miles to do the job. its just some hate to see an ordinary guy picking up a few extra quid and rather pay more in flights just to stop it. same with those on benefits who are fit and able to do these jobs. come off for a few weeks and then have to start the process all over again. it would not bother men someone doing a necessary job and making a bit extra in these times.

Perhaps if we hadn’t told them, along with NHS workers and other EU workers to fuck off, this wouldn’t need to be done

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus- ... t-11974364


More on their way .Anyone know how many years it takes to train up a fruit picker ?

It’s almost as if the UK can’t cope without migrant workers from picking fruit in the fields doing jobs thousands prefer universal credit to, to saving lives and risking their own on the front line in our hospitals.

Are you going condemn the government for flying in thousands of FRUIT PICKERS when there's a global pandemic going on or not PJ?

And are you aware a good million or so have already lost their jobs here PJ

not everyone is physically or mentally suitable to do all the jobs you mention. there has been too many square pegs in round holes for years without creating more.

re training to pick bloody fruit off a tree. pick anything edible every year growing in the wild. been doing it since i was a kid with my parents. i,ll get a medium to get back in touch with em to ask em why i wasn,t type trained on raspberries and blackberries and failed to pick em in the correct way that was advised in page 5 sub section 3 of the government training manual.

I imagine it's far too much of an honest and hard days graft for many as well. But the whole benefits system in the UK is just another thing that isn't fit for purpose any more. Universal credit is a shambles and has caused death through starvation.

In all seriousness it's absolute madness the amount of movement of people in and out and around the UK is mental enough at the minute and you couldn't make up flying people in to pick fruit. It's just one big contradiction. A bit like the massive gathering last night (including the Police) on Westminster Bridge to clap the NHS whilst doing everything they are begging us not to do.

But it's absolutely comical that it's this story amongst a lot of stories right now is the one that pricks up Billy The Bunker racists ears and gets him aboard the outrage bus.

Land army now !

Not sure if this is paid or not. Why would anyone on 80% pay for staying at home , want to do this? national pride ? its not 1926 FFS ! they should be asking the unemployed if they would like to do it , and the jobcentre/ government should providing transport and or accommodation to and from the farms on a weekly or daily basis.

I went fruit picking in my younger days and its bloody hard work for little reward, the farmers, more like gangmasters were incredibly racist as well , towards the mainly foreign students at the time, using it as a way of getting money to continue travelling around the world. I get the impression farmers now after almost 20 years of uncontrolled immigration prefer the foreign workers to British ones , because they are more compliant , this is probably why the government are not asking the unemployed to do this work.

Luckily mine was just a holiday , the thought of doing this every day for months , would rather go to prison.

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk ... eIoz8LLq9Q

I remember potato picking week in the sixties and god after a week of that paper rounds were like golddust.

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/ ... 66464?s=21

Sorry for the Piers Morgan part but this is just staggering.

I remember picking rocks and putting them onto a wagon ,when they were landscaping Blackhall pit heap in the summer of 1977. You got 5 quid a day , and as a 12 year old kid in 1977 that was serious money , but cant remember me and my mates ever doing two days on the bounce , never mind a full week , we just did a day here and there when we wanted to , it was back breaking.

Just ignore him PJ. Seems to be having his own fun at the expense of everyone discussing serious issues. Dont call him names though. He is one if the ones I was referring to that will get others banned.

Do you patriotic Brexit duty, you racist gord, get off your arse and do it, Churchill the dog demands it!!!

Spud lorries paid about £6 and £12 a day mid 70's from Darlo's market
Paper rounds paid about the same for a week,evenings less .Milk rounds 10 for starters ..the odd tips helped.

Horden my family is from blackhall and i know people laugh when you say the good old days how ever they where the good old days at least you where all in the same boat rowing in the same direction.

Calling him racist is simply stating a fact.

Back to that link I posted of Hancock.

He says airports and borders are still open because the epidermic risk is low as the infection rate is high.

Basically we are already overrun with the virus and it’s too late to make a difference.

Totally ignoring if we had taken the measures lots other countries had six weeks ago we wouldn’t be in this position and a lot of people would be still alive. It’s jaw dropping.

Absolutely staggering but why did Morgan let Hancock off the hook.
Morgan started by asking why the airports are still open, then proceeded to give a lecture, then kept butting in.
One day he'll wake up and realise that if you ask a question, it might be a good idea to just shut up and listen to the answer.
I wanted to hear Hancock's answer, which we still haven't fully received because Morgan likes the sound of his own voice.
Hancock was visibly uncomfortable and Morgan let him off.

Mining communities and its culture were unique , things were certainly better then IMO, for the majority they were the good old days , its sad to see what they've become.

Wow, here’s the smoking gun;


https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/stat ... 28545?s=21

Staggering isn't it. Still I await the responses of the few telling us to stop government bashing

Said it before and am going to keep on saying it. Matt hancock should be locked up for manslaughter. The man is a danger to every living soul in this country.

An idiot of the highest order. Makes karl pilkington look and sound more like karl Marx.

On a human level I have some sympathy for Hancock it’s not nice to see anyone so hopelessly out of their depth but sympathy turns to anger when you realise the cost of this ineptitude.

At the end of the day he’s just the Monkey it’s the organ grinders who have put the UK on this path who should be held accountable.

Then he should grow a pair and answer questions first and then honestly at the same time. Rather than downright lying or just ignoring the question entirely.

Dont be feeling sorry for him. This fella stood to be leader of the tories and therefore prime minister

thing is about fruit picking is that its quite a short time local job. you know you cannot do it full time and will shortly come to an end. once i was 15 i used to work in a brick works mainly stacking bricks or loading pallets for transportation. it was a lousy boring and backbreaking job. i however knew like a pototo picker it would soon be over and not for life.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52342092

Wow! I bet none of these passengers will have the virus or anything like that. Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated nations on earth and with 2,000 cases already (that they know of).

This government is a fucking joke! What other nations are initiating flights such as these?

This is what is remarkable you carnt go for a walk away from your home however you can fly in from bangladesh and go home to anywhere in the uk unchecked takes the piss really.

Aer Lingus flight yesterday

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-52539141

Aer Lingus Spokesperson : Oh, um, er, the flight had one key worker on it, we need to keep making money...I mean erm, flying key workers yes.