Ministers last night approved plans aimed at slowing the spread of the Indian variant, after cases doubled in a week. Older people living in areas of high infection are to be offered their second dose of the vaccine early to protect them. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also been asked to … Read more
Coronavirus infections have doubled in a week in four Indian variant hotspots, official figures show, amid fears lockdown easing measures could be delayed because of the mutant strain. But Public Health England cautioned there was no need to panic yet because infections nationwide were ‘stable’ and hospitalisations have continued to drop. Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE’s … Read more
Britain today announced 2,657 more coronavirus cases and 11 deaths as the country’s outbreak remains flat but hospital admissions are still tumbling thanks to the vaccine rollout. The case count was on par with last Thursday’s – a 1.7 per cent rise from 2,613 – while deaths were down 15 per cent, continuing three months … Read more
Sacre bleu! The Frenchman who repeatedly criticised the British Government for wanting to take back control of our borders is now blithely proposing that France should do the same thing. Does Michel Barnier register une petite contradiction? Might he even admit to being a teeny weeny bit of a hypocrite? ‘Non’ and ‘absolument non’ are … Read more
The Prime Minister has ‘apologised unreservedly’ for the events that led to the deaths of 10 innocent civilians in Ballymurphy 50 years ago. Boris Johnson made the apology on behalf of the UK Government during a phone call with Northern Ireland‘s First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, the leader of Sinn … Read more
The Champions League final will now be staged in Porto in Portugal after the UK government and UEFA could not reach agreement over quarantine exemptions for more than 2,000 VIPs, staff and media for the match to be played at Wembley. It will be officially ratified by UEFA on Thursday. The all-English final between Manchester … Read more
The Indian Covid variant that is surging in Britain could spread up to 60 per cent faster than the dominant Kent strain, a scientist has claimed. Professor Tom Wenseleers, a biologist and biostatistician at the KU Leuven university in Belgium, said on Twitter he had analysed how the two strains compared and found the Indian … Read more
Boris Johnson mocked Sir Keir Starmer over his bungled reshuffle today – as the Labour leader faced another blow with the resignation of a close aide. The PM jibed that Sir Keir was just making Ms Rayner ‘hungrier’ for power after he tried to sack her in the wake of the Super Thursday disaster – … Read more
Boris Johnson will heap pressure on stricken Keir Starmer today with a Queen’s Speech aiming to ‘level up’ jobs and investment in former Labour heartlands. The PM will move to cement his new ‘Blue Wall’ vowing people will no longer have to move to London for decent work, and boosting education opportunities for those who have … Read more
Boris Johnson is set to reclaim powers to trigger an early election – amid swirling rumours that he will turn the screw on crisis-hit Labour by calling a vote in 2023. The PM has not had full control over the timing of an election for a decade, since the Cameron-Clegg Coalition passed the Fixed-term Parliaments … Read more