UK Producers Say Shoots Worth $1.3BN May Be At Risk Unless Government Acts Urgently Over Emergency Insurance Fund

According to reports that emerged over the weekend in the Times and the Telegraph, Boris Johnson ordered officials to draw up plans to avoid a second lockdown.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe UK government has listened to months of industry lobbying and launched an emergency £500M ($646M) film and TV coronavirus production insurance fund, which will effectively underwrite the cost of shoots closing in the event of a second lockdown.The insurance solution is a significant boost to producers who have been looking for a way to return to production without exposing themselves to potentially catastrophic financial risk.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorThe British government has listened to months of industry lobbying and launched an emergency £500M ($646M) film and TV coronavirus production insurance fund, which could open the floodgates to a backlog of shoots worth an estimated £1BN ($1.3BN).In a massive boost for an industry stricken by the pandemic, trade body Pact announced the insurance solution in a release on Tuesday afternoon.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorAn influential group of British Parliamentarians has called on the government to set up an emergency film and TV production insurance fund to help get cameras rolling again across the UK.In a report on the impact of coronavirus on the UK’s cultural sectors, the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee said that without an insurance solution, efforts to get shoots back underway are “doomed to failure.”The MPs said: “Government must address

Keir Starmer has called on Nicola Sturgeon to publicly condemn Alex Salmond over his role as a broadcaster on the Kremlin-funded Russia Today (RT) station. The Labour leader has used the publication of the parliamentary report into Russian interference in UK democracy to challenge the SNP leader to call out her previous boss.

independence vote and the Brexit referendum, according to a landmark report on Russian interference in Britain. The report was finally released today after months of delay at the hands of Downing Street which has immediately rejected the main call from the Intelligence and Security Committee.

hereIt found that Russians with "very close links" to Vladimir Putin were "well-integrated into the UK, business, political and social scene."The Committee said: “We therefore question whether the government took its eye off the ball because of its focus on counter-terrorism: it was the opinion of the Committee that, until recently, the government had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat – and is still playing catch-up.“Russia poses a tough intelligence challenge and

independence referendum but not the Brexit vote, according to reports. An investigation into alleged Russian interference in British democracy is due to be published on Tuesday.