UK

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has demanded Boris Johnson “just answer the question” about whether he attended a “bring your own booze” event in Downing Street during the first COVID lockdown. Speaking to Sky News, a “furious” Mr Ross called on the prime minister to “settle this right now” as to whether he was present

Boris Johnson is facing calls to come to the Commons to explain how he came to attend a lockdown-busting “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden As well as a Whitehall inquiry into allegations of several Downing Street parties during lockdowns in England, the prime minister could now also face a police

The prime minister and his wife Carrie attended a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown. More than 100 employees in Number 10 were invited to the drinks on 20 May 2020. In what has been described as evidence of “more rule breaking at the heart

The UK has recorded 141,472 new COVID-19 cases and a further 97 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. The latest government figures compare to 146,390 infections and 313 fatalities recorded on Saturday, which took the UK’s total COVID-related death toll to more than 150,000. This time last week, 151,663 cases were reported along with 73

A cabinet minister has said he is in favour of reducing the coronavirus isolation period from seven days to five – provided the move is backed by officials. Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi said the issue is something that the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is looking at. Live COVID updates from

The scale of loss to COVID-19 is so vast, barely a community in the country can have been spared. In north London, John and Ida Sullivan have been suffering the pain of that loss for nearly two years. Their daughter Susan was one of the first to die from the virus, which has now claimed

The UK has recorded more than 150,000 COVID-related deaths since the start of the pandemic after the latest daily figures showed 313 further fatalities. It brings the total number of deaths reported within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test to 150,057. A further 146,390 COVID cases have also been reported, according to the latest

COVID booster jabs provide 90% protection against hospitalisation in the over-65s for at least three months, UK scientists have said. It means there is “no immediate need” for a fourth jab to be administered to vulnerable people, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. Older adults who have not had a booster suffer a significant

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has been directly challenged by an unvaccinated hospital consultant over the government’s policy of compulsory COVID jabs for NHS staff. During a visit to King’s College Hospital in south London, Mr Javid asked staff members on the intensive care unit about their thoughts on new rules requiring vaccination for NHS workers.

Some 200 Armed Forces personnel are being deployed to support the NHS in London as hospitals grapple with staff shortages. Military medics will assist NHS doctors and nurses with patient care, while general duty personnel will help fill gaps caused by other absences. The Royal College of Nursing has said the deployment means the government

The epicentre of the current COVID outbreak has moved from London to the North West of England and more older people are being admitted to hospital, new data reveals. The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) latest surveillance report also shows that the uptake of booster jabs is slowing in every age group. Rates in the

Plans to tackle the record waiting list for NHS treatment could be derailed by emergency care demands and a lack of staff, MPs have warned. The backlog of patients waiting for planned care in England has soared to nearly six million as the number of 999 calls and A&E waiting times have both hit record

Four protesters have been found not guilty of causing criminal damage after toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol during a Black Lives Matter protest. A jury at Bristol Crown Court cleared Rhian Graham, 30, Jake Skuse, 33, Sage Willoughby, 22 and Milo Ponsford, 26, of charges, following a trial that

MPs are returning to Westminster after their Christmas break and plunging straight into a potentially fiery Prime Minister’s Questions and a Commons showdown over COVID-19. Besides the latest crisis over Omicron, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer are poised to clash over soaring energy bills, investigations into Downing Street parties, and the PM’s flat makeover.

Key workers across several industries that keep the country running will be required to take COVID tests daily, the prime minister has announced. Boris Johnson said 100,000 workers “from food processing to transport to Border Force” will have to test every day they are in work from 10 January. The government will send lateral flow

Multiple hospitals have declared critical incidents amid warnings the NHS is “in a state of crisis” in the face of staff shortages caused by coronavirus and rising pressures. In a letter to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the NHS can “ill afford” the current level of absences as it

Boris Johnson has warned it would be “absolute folly” to say the pandemic is over – but said Omicron “is plainly milder” than other variants. Despite a huge increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, the prime minister said the UK is in a better position than most other countries due to the “very, very

A confidential settlement between Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre, which could be key to a legal case involving Prince Andrew, is set to be made public today. The 2009 agreement between Epstein – the late disgraced financier – and Ms Giuffre, formerly known as Virginia Roberts, is due to be released following an order by

Thunderstorms are expected to hit the south of England today, bringing the possibility of road closures, power cuts and damage to trees and buildings. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for a band of stormy weather from Exeter in the West across to Norwich in the East. “A band of thunderstorms will

The NHS faces intensifying strain over coming weeks as a “health emergency” created by pressures such as surging hospital admissions and staff absences build further, it has been warned. Matthew Taylor, head of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations in the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, acknowledged the current Omicron-driven wave of