927 Thu Apr 30 - Wed May 6 2009

Issue 927

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The Budget was the most naked attack on the middle classes since the 1970s

Simon Heffer

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By Auslan Cramb Scottish Correspondent

THE first British victims of swine flu are a newly married couple from Scotland who were on honeymoon in the Mexican resort of Cancun.

Iain and Dawn Askham from Polmont, near Falkirk, were being treated this week in isolation but were reported to be recovering well.

A further 22 people, including a five-year-old child, who they were in contact with after returning home last week have undergone tests and were being monitored.

Seven of them have been given antiviral drugs and are being treated for symptoms of swine flu at home.

The Foreign Office is advising Britons against all but essential travel to Mexico, where more than 150 people are now thought to have died in the swine flu outbreak.

Thousands of British holidaymakers are to be repatriated from Mexico after travel operators said they were cancelling all flights to the country.

Travel giant TUI, which owns Thomson and First Choice holidays, said on Tuesday it was suspending its services to Cancun and would begin flying back 2,500 Britons currently in the country on scheduled flights.

Thomas Cook has cancelled all

Thomas Cook and Airtours holidays to Mexico for seven days. It is also making arrangements for any of its customers in the country who want to come home early.

The Askhams were married in Falkirk three weeks ago. It is understood that Mr Askham, 27, first began to show symptoms on April 23, on a night out with friends.

His wife also began to feel ill and they were admitted to the infectious diseases unit of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie on Saturday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has admitted that swine flu could not be contained and raised its pandemic alert level to phase four, indicating it is spreading between humans.

Dr Keiji Fukuda, the WHO assistant director-general for health and security and environment, said despite the raised level, a pandemic was not “inevitable”.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, said on Tuesday that the Government would take “all the action necessary” to prevent the spread of swine flu.

Speaking in the Polish capital, Warsaw, Mr Brown insisted that Britain was well prepared to deal with a major outbreak.

“We have been preparing for this kind of scenario for many years. Brit

British victims: Iain and Dawn Askham, from Scotland, were being treated in isolation but were said to be recovering well

ain is among the best prepared countries in the world,” he told a news conference with Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister.

“We, together with the World Health Organisation and our partners in Europe and internationally, will continue to take all the urgent action that is necessary to halt the spread of this virus.”

A pandemic is declared at level six. Since the alerts were introduced in

2005, it has never been higher than level three. Mr Brown said containing the disease was not feasible as it had already spread around the world.

He said governments should instead concentrate on giving people information on how to avoid catching the illness and being prepared to treat those who fall ill.

Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, said he was “very concerned” about the ongo

ing health alert. Speaking on GMTV on Tuesday, he said: “That does not mean that a pandemic is inevitable but we are very concerned.

“It does seem as if this disease is a new strain of flu, it is one that is spreading quite rapidly from person to person.

“So our contingency plans for combating a pandemic in this country have been put into place and we are

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