Politics

People arriving in England from France will still have to quarantine for 10 days on their return – even if they have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the government has announced. From Monday, those who have had two COVID vaccine doses will no longer have to isolate after travelling back from countries on

The UK is “not out of the woods yet” when it comes to coronavirus and people should approach the end of most restrictions on Monday with caution, England’s chief medical officer has warned. Professor Chris Whitty said the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 is doubling around every three weeks and could hit “quite

Boris Johnson has claimed it is “highly probable” the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is over – on the day the UK recorded its highest number of daily cases for six months. The prime minister urged people not to “throw caution to the winds” when most legal restrictions in England end on Monday, as he

Boris Johnson will argue his “levelling-up” project is a “win-win” and will not mean “robbing Peter to pay Paul” as he sets out his post-pandemic vision for the UK. In a speech in the West Midlands on Thursday, the prime minister will indicate his flagship programme will benefit the whole country, not just the Conservatives’

Football banning orders will be changed to cover online racism, Boris Johnson has told MPs. The prime minister said the government is “taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed”. “So that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers then you will not be going to the

Criticism of Home Secretary Priti Patel over efforts to fight racism are “unusual” and “odd”, one of her fellow cabinet ministers has told Sky News. Following England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy – after which some of the side’s players suffered racist abuse on social media – Ms Patel‘s pre-tournament comments on footballers taking

Boris Johnson has seen off a Conservative rebellion over his plan to cut the UK’s foreign aid spending. MPs voted 333 to 298, a majority of 35, to back reducing overseas aid spending from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%. Ministers have insisted the cut – which will see a reduction of around £4.4bn

Boris Johnson has called the bluff of rebel Tory MPs demanding a Commons vote on Rishi Sunak’s controversial decision to cut spending on overseas aid. After months of resisting a vote, ministers sprang a surprise on the rebels by announcing a last-minute change to Commons business with a debate and vote less than 24 hours

The ending of most legal coronavirus restrictions in England next week “should not be taken as an invitation by everybody simply to have a great jubilee and freedom from any kind of caution or restraint”, the prime minister has said. Speaking at a Downing Street news conference, Boris Johnson said it is “absolutely vital that

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said “caution is absolutely vital” as he prepares to address the nation on Monday to announce whether the final stage of releasing coronavirus restrictions can go ahead. The prime minister is expected to confirm that England can move to step four of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown, but to

An eight-week interval between vaccine doses provides “much better” protection from coronavirus, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said, as he dismissed reports that the gap is due to be reduced from eight weeks to four. Mr Zahawi also told Sky News he is “confident” that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce on Monday that COVID

The number of people waiting for NHS hospital treatment could reach 13 million in the months to come due to the COVID backlog, the health secretary has said. Sajid Javid claims “shocking” government modelling indicates the current waiting list of 5.3 million people could more than double by the end of the year. This includes

A new Brexit row has erupted over how much the UK owes the EU as part of its “divorce bill”. The EU’s latest accounts suggest the UK must pay billions more than was initially expected – €47.5bn (£40.8bn). But Downing Street firmly rejected the revised net figure on Friday, insisting that the departure sum remains

Boris Johnson’s Brexit minister has blamed Theresa May for problems with the implementation of border arrangements for Northern Ireland. Lord Frost told members of the Northern Ireland Assembly on Friday that current issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol were “to a very large degree” the fault of negotiations under Mr Johnson‘s predecessor as prime minister.

Reducing the sensitivity of the NHS COVID app to bring down the number of people being told to self-isolate is “like taking the batteries out of the smoke alarm”, Sir Keir Starmer has said. On Thursday, the head of the UK Health Security Agency, Dr Jenny Harries, confirmed that ministers plan to “tune” the app

Details of a plan to allow vaccinated expats into the UK without having to quarantine could be revealed in the “next couple of weeks”, the transport secretary has said. Grant Shapps told Sky News that ministers are “actively working” on proposals to allow those who received their jabs outside of the UK to be exempt

Fully vaccinated adults will no longer have to quarantine on their return from amber list countries from 19 July, Grant Shapps has confirmed. Making a statement on international travel in the Commons, the transport secretary said those who have received two jabs will no longer have to self-isolate for 10 days after their return to

Summer holidays are finally set for take-off as the government finally allows fully vaccinated travellers to avoid quarantine rules from later this month. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is making a long-awaited Commons statement tearing up rules that currently force passengers returning from amber list countries to isolate for up to 10 days. The change, which

Boris Johnson has told MPs that possible herd immunity is “not the consideration” behind holding back changes to COVID self-isolation rules until 16 August. The prime minister is facing a backlash after he set out his intention to press ahead with the final lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England on 19 July – but the