A number of Conservative MPs have told Sky News they do not think the government will follow through and actually introduce domestic vaccine passports. The prospect of people having to prove their COVID-19 status to access a range of venues has been raised in recent weeks. Boris Johnson has already said that individuals will need
Politics
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said “no one really knows” how many COVID-19 cases there might be during the rest of the summer as he failed to stick to his previous prediction of 100,000 daily infections. According to government figures, there were more than 54,000 COVID cases reported on 17 July – the current highest
Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and the US will be able to avoid quarantining when they arrive in England from next Monday, the government has confirmed. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has also announced the resumption of international cruises. The change regarding US and EU arrivals come into force from 4am on 2 August. Live
The UK will give Kenya 817,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the government has announced. Ministers said the offer would help the nation – which has a population of around 52 million – to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with the first 400,000 doses due to be sent this week. It comes as Foreign Secretary
The prime minister has defended plans to widen police use of stop and search powers, describing it as a “kind and loving” way to get dangerous weapons off the streets. Speaking as the government set out its new Beating Crime Plan for England and Wales, Boris Johnson said stop and search was not a “strong-arm”
A Labour MP was right to call Boris Johnson a liar in the Commons, party leader Sir Keir Starmer has said. Sir Keir backed Dawn Butler, who was kicked out of the chamber last week for refusing to withdraw her claim that the prime minister has “lied to the House and the country over and
University students could need to be fully vaccinated against coronavirus to attend lectures and stay in halls this coming academic year. “We aren’t ruling it out,” a senior government source told Sky News about the prospect of mandating COVID-19 vaccination passports for universities. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Please use
A minister has apologised to those who have experienced delays at the UK’s airports over the weekend. People have complained of “total chaos” at airports as the summer holidays began for millions. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world Two hour-long queues to show COVID-19 documentation before being allowed airside were reported
The health secretary has apologised for saying people should no longer “cower from” coronavirus. Sajid Javid said he had deleted the tweet, which he posted on Saturday to say he had made a “full recovery” a week after testing positive for COVID-19. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world I’ve deleted a
The UK’s former cyber security chief has raised the alarm over the sale of a Welsh microchip manufacturer to a Chinese-backed company. Ciaran Martin, the former chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said the purchase of Newport Wafer Fab by Nexperia, a Dutch subsidiary of the Chinese company Wingtech, poses a greater
The prime minister will emerge from isolation this coming week and deliver what is being billed as his new “beating crime plan”. Boris Johnson, who will finish his quarantine period at his Chequers country retreat on Monday, is seeking to get back on the front foot as he begins his third year as prime minister.
Taxpayers will spend decades exposed to financial risks from the government’s coronavirus spending, according to a committee of MPs. Parliament’s public accounts committee (PAC) has produced two reports related to the crisis, the first of which warns that Britain will be exposed to “significant financial risks for decades to come”. The cost of government measures
Throughout his life and political career, Boris Johnson has believed the rules don’t apply to him. And as he marks his second anniversary as prime minister this weekend, it seems nothing’s changed. It was a claim first made by one of his masters at Eton. And the view was reinforced as recently as last Sunday
Boris Johnson is facing growing pressure to allow fully vaccinated people who have been identified as close contacts of coronavirus cases to be exempt from isolation. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has joined business leaders in calling for more workers to be allowed to skip quarantine if they are alerted by the NHS COVID-19 app to
The government has released more details about which fully-vaccinated workers may be exempt from isolation if they are told to quarantine after coming into contact with a positive COVID case. On Thursday evening, the government published a list of 16 sectors which the new guidance of completing daily coronavirus tests rather than quarantining would apply
Five Tory MPs breached the code of conduct by trying to influence the trial of former MP Charlie Elphicke, the Commons Standards Committee has ruled. The MPs include Elphicke’s former wife Natalie Elphicke, Sir Roger Gale, Theresa Villiers, Adam Holloway and Bob Stewart. Three of them – Ms Elphicke, Sir Roger and Ms Villiers –
It is “crucial” that people isolate when identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, Downing Street has said. A Number 10 spokeswoman said quarantining at home “remains the most important action people can take to stop the spread of the virus”. Live COVID updates from the UK and around
Bill Clinton turned down an invitation to have tea with the Queen because he “wanted to be a tourist” in London, newly released official papers show. The US president was visiting the UK in 1997 – four weeks after Tony Blair came to power – and said he wanted to hit the shops and eat
A minister has not explicitly ruled out the prospect of the government requiring vaccine passports for people to go to pubs. Business minister Paul Scully told Kay Burley that ministers are “not saying crowded pubs at all” in addition to plans to require people to prove their COVID-19 vaccine status to enter nightclubs and other
A parliamentary committee looking into the Greensill saga has found that lobbying rules were “insufficient” and need to be strengthened The Commons Treasury committee, which looked into David Cameron’s involvement in trying to secure finance firm Greensill Capital access to a government coronavirus support scheme, said the rules should be tightened to prevent any more