Politics

Matt Hancock has insisted the government “worked as hard as we could to protect care homes” following scathing criticism from Dominic Cummings. The health secretary has defended himself for the second time in a day in the wake of the attacks from Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser. One of the key claims made by Mr

Boris Johnson has avoided answering questions on Dominic Cummings’s explosive allegations – but suggested some claims were not based on reality. Mr Johnson sidestepped questions about the claims – including that he is not fit to be PM – during a visit to a hospital on Thursday by saying he was “getting on with the

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings’ testimony to MPs today because he was dealing with the vaccination rollout and “saving lives”. Mr Hancock came in for repeated attacks by the prime minister’s former adviser during a seven-hour-long committee hearing. Analysis: Hancock fighting for his political life after brutal

Dominic Cummings has said Boris Johnson initially considered COVID a “scare story” like swine flu. Boris Johnson’s former adviser kicked off a morning of questioning by MPs over the lessons learnt from the pandemic by saying the government did not do as much as it could in the early months of 2020. Explaining why Mr

Local authorities worst affected by the Indian variant have insisted no further COVID-19 travel restrictions apply to their areas after meeting government officials. The eight councils affected have said people are still allowed to travel in and out of the areas listed on the government website which were interpreted as having stricter measures placed on

Anti-Muslim sentiment “remains a problem” within the Conservative Party, an independent report has found. Professor Swaran Singh, a former equality and human rights commissioner, analysed 1,418 complaints relating to 727 separate incidents as recorded in the Tories’ complaints database between 2015 and 2020. In a 44,000-word report on his findings, he said: “Judging by the

The public will likely have to wait longer for details of the government’s review of social distancing rules and its proposals for COVID certification due to the growth in cases of the Indian variant. Downing Street signalled Boris Johnson would wait longer to unveil the plans, despite the prime minister having previously promised to provide

There are fears for the life of a journalist who was arrested when his Ryanair flight was diverted to Belarus. Roman Protasevich has been detained after his flight from Athens, Greece, was rerouted from its scheduled destination of Vilnius, in Lithuania, to Belarus capital Minsk on Sunday. The 26-year-old has been described as a “private

The sister of murdered MP Jo Cox is to be Labour’s candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election, a poll that could determine whether Sir Keir Starmer survives as party leader. Kim Leadbeater, 44, who only joined the Labour Party recently, will defend the seat once held by Ms Cox. Until recently it was held

Dominic Cummings has claimed the government originally planned to let coronavirus rip through the country in an attempt to build “herd immunity”. Boris Johnson’s former top adviser said the plan was to develop resistance in the population in the months leading up to September after the disease first emerged in early 2020. In a series

The UK’s border will become “fully digital” so the government is able to measure immigration levels, the home secretary will announce on Monday. Priti Patel is set to announce what the government is calling “sweeping changes” to the UK’s immigration policy to “streamline” the way in which people come into the country. The changes include

The director-general of the BBC has written to staff saying lessons must be learnt following the damning report into the circumstances surrounding the Panorama interview with Princess Diana. In an internal email, Tim Davie said people across the BBC felt “deeply let down” by the contents of Lord Dyson’s 127-page report, which found the corporation

The Met Police says it will assess the contents of the inquiry into the BBC’s Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana to ensure there is no “significant new evidence” to support a criminal investigation. In March this year, the force said it was “not appropriate” to launch a criminal investigation into “unlawful activity” in connection

A cabinet minister has told Sky News it would make “sense” for many people to carry on wearing masks even after lockdown rules are lifted. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland suggested continuing the practice would help curb the spread of the common cold. He also said “caution has been the watchword” when it came to lifting

The prime minister has declared that the world “must never be caught unawares” by another pandemic, as he backed a new global surveillance network to detect emerging diseases. A “global pandemic radar” is being developed by the World Health Organisation to monitor and track new infections and variants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Britons should “apply common sense” over whether or not they choose to fly to amber list countries, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says. Since the ban on foreign holidays was lifted on Monday as part of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, people have been able to enjoy quarantine-free travel to a dozen destinations on the government’s

There are now almost 3,000 cases of the Indian variant in the UK, the health secretary has told MPs. Matt Hancock said 2,967 cases of the COVID-19 variant have now been recorded, having stood at more than 2,300 on Monday. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world As a result, surge testing

The decision to travel to amber list countries is a “personal responsibility”, a minister has said. But skills minister Gillian Keegan echoed the PM’s warning yesterday that they are “not somewhere where you should be going on holiday”. Thousands of people have reportedly travelled to destinations on the amber list since the ban on foreign

Boris Johnson is being warned by scientists that a surge in vaccinations in COVID hotspots may not be enough to halt the spread of the Indian variant – and that he should not have relaxed lockdown rules this week.  The prime minister has said he is keeping the variant under close watch, adding “we’ll know