Clap for our Carers: UK applauds NHS heroes hours after Government scraps immigration surcharge for foreign healthcare workers

Brits have taken to their doorsteps, windows and balconies to clap for key workers just hours after the Government agreed to remove foreign NHS and care workers from the immigration health surcharge.

Streets around the UK were filled with the sound of clapping, cheering, and pots clanging as people paid tribute to healthcare workers battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The Clap for Carers initiative sees people stepping out every Thursday at 8pm to applaud workers on the frontline of the crisis.

Thursday’s ninth nationwide applause came after Boris Johnson was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on Thursday after strong warnings that the Government looked “mean-spirited and petty”.

In east London, 100-year-old Dabirul Choudhury clapped for key workers alongside his friends and family outside his house.

He has raised £177,000 by walking laps of his garden during the month of Ramadan to help people affected by coronavirus in the UK and Bangladesh.

In Manchester, the Oldham Scottish Pipe Band performed as a tribute to the North Manchester General Hospital.

Crew from Red Moon Cruises in Scotland sounded their horn as a “special thank you to all those ‘hidden’ workers who help keep almost all workplaces going”.

One Twitter user shared a clip of their street playing “We Will Rock You” as residents took to their doorsteps to clap.

NHS staff also clapped and cheered outside hospitals around the UK.

At St George’s Hospital in south London, doctors, nurses and support staff stood on the hospital’s helipad and applauded healthcare workers across the country.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan paid tribute to key workers and said: “They go above and beyond. They keep London going. They are truly the best of us.”

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also shared a picture on Twitter of her clapping from her doorstep dressed in a blue suit.

She said: “Another heartfelt thank you to all those working to keep us safe.”

The Clap for Carers campaign was set up as a gesture to thank all doctors, nurses, pharmacists, GPs and NHS staff working hard to help those affected by Covid-19 “during these unprecedented times”.

It was set up by yoga teacher Annemarie Plas.

She shared a post on Instagram urging people to “clap for carers”, then the message was shared thousands of times across social media.

The 36-year-old emphasised the clap was not just for NHS staff, stating it was for pharmacists, dentists, supermarket workers and other essential workers on the frontline.