Coronavirus

A television presenter has reminded Matt Hancock that the Covid-19 vaccine – first administered in Britain – was an international effort. The health secretary was rebuked last week after he claimed that Britain was only able to become the first country to approve the jab because of Brexit. He told talkRADIO: “It is absolutely clear that […]

A grandmother has become the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 jab as part of the NHS’s mass vaccination programme . Margaret Keenan, 90, received the jab at 6.31am in Coventry on Tuesday, marking the start of a phased rollout of the vaccine to older people, NHS staff and care home workers. […]

The government’s decision to review the country’s human rights laws has been branded “bonkers” by Labour, with campaigners warning it would be a “giant leap backwards” if they were torn up. Former Court of Appeal judge Sir Peter Gross will lead a panel which will consider whether the Human Rights Act needs to be reformed, some […]

Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice has been challenged after suggesting Britain fast-tracked a coronavirus vaccine thanks to Brexit. Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn swiftly rebuffed Tice who suggested Britain was able to speedily approve a vaccine because it was no longer part of the EU. Tice was echoing comments made by the health secretary last week that […]

James Cleverly has struggled to explain how the UK will access the coronavirus vaccine – which is produced in Belgium – in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Cleverly said stocks of the vaccine would be flown into the UK should a no-deal Brexit occur but stopped short of explaining other methods were being considered by the government. […]

Readers respond to Rishi Sunak’s latest spending review. The biggest public sector debt in history! What sickens me is the failure to acknowledge the outright lies of the coalition government in cutting back services now seen as essential. Health and social care, police, youth clubs, mother and toddler groups and all the multitude of services […]

Football pundit Gary Neville has said that Westminster’s political leaders are “out of their depth” in their handling of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK. The 45-year-old and former football playe has spoken out against “division” as the country deals with the Covid-19 crisis, and said: “At this moment in time we aren’t working as […]

A prominent public health expert has said that anti-lockdown campaigners are responsible for worsening the very restrictions they oppose. Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh told the Stormont politicians: “The people who are most anti-lockdown have been frustrating to listen to because those are the people pushing us into lockdown… “The […]

Gavin Williamson has become the centre of an ongoing joke after he claimed Britain swiftly approved a Covid-19 vaccine because it was a “much better country” than others. The education secretary told LBC radio that Britain had “much better” medical regulators than France, Belgium, and the US, who helped rapidly approve a coronavirus vaccine. Commenting UK regulators approving […]

So as I type this it’s the morning of December 1, and I’ve just done something I always do on this day each year; put my earphones in, hit up the Christmas songs playlist for the first time and hit ‘shuffle’. I think I’ve mentioned before that I operate a strict embargo system where Christmas […]

Matt Hancock has been rebuked by members of the public after suggesting the speedy approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was due to Brexit. Hancock caused controversy after insisting Britain’s exit from the EU meant it could rapidly approve new vaccines. This comes after Britain became the first country in the world to approve a jab for coronavirus on […]

Matt Hancock has said a former neighbour who was awarded millions of pounds worth of Covid contracts after texting him went through “the normal channels”. Hancock deflected criticism that he was personally involved in handing government contracts to Alex Bourne whose company was given work to supply test tubes two weeks after contacting the minister by […]

England is set for a strengthened tiered system of coronavirus restrictions after MPs backed the measures, despite Boris Johnson suffering the largest Tory rebellion of this parliament. Their support means 99% of England will enter the toughest Tier 2 and 3 restrictions, preventing them from mixing indoors with other households when the second national lockdown […]

A group of Tory peers have lashed out at the current series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! over the use of “non-native” insects in certain challenges. The group has said the use of non-native bugs in Wales, where this season’s show is being filmed, was “irresponsible” and “stupid”. The popular TV show was forced to relocate from […]

Piers Morgan has slammed the government’s coronavirus response, pointing out that the “disastrous” death toll was higher than the number of civilians who died in the Second World War. Morgan criticised the handling of the pandemic as he interviewed minister Michael Gove, as the MP denied that it had been a bad response. The Good […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the party would be abstaining in Tuesday’s Commons vote on the coronavirus restrictions, prompting accusations from the government the opposition is “playing politics”. Starmer said: “Coronavirus remains a serious threat to the public’s health and that’s why Labour accept the need for continued restrictions. We will always act […]

Boris Johnson is bracing himself for a damaging Tory rebellion as MPs vote on a new toughened system of tiered coronavirus controls for England. The government is expected to win Tuesday’s Commons vote on the new rules – which are due to come into effect the following day – after Labour said it would abstain. Sir […]

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said he is confident another lockdown in England could be avoided, but that the government could not rule one out. Appearing on Kay Burley at Breakfast, he said: “I am as confident as confident can be that we won’t need one because the tiers that we have now are […]

A radio presenter has said Tory MPs opposing Boris Johnson’s latest lockdown plans are doing so because they “don’t like being told what to do”. The LBC’s James O’Brien has said the 100-strong group of Tories resisting the prime minister’s regulations were jeopardising the public’s safety. The band of MPs, known as the Covid Recovery Group (CRG), […]

Environment secretary George Eustice has been ridiculed after claiming that a Scotch egg “probably would” class as a substantial meal in a pub to allow people to have a drink. The minister was ridiculed for entering the debate over what is classed as a “substantial” meal to go with alcohol in pubs in tier two […]

Boris Johnson is set to publish economic impact papers related to the coronavirus lockdown in a bid to attempt to assure Tory MPs. The prime minister will publish an impact assessment of the restrictions ahead of a crunch Commons vote on Tuesday in an attempt to win over would-be rebels. Scores of Tory MPs have […]

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has pulled apart Laurence Fox’s tweet which suggested he had broken lockdown to meet with close friends – in defiance of policies designed to protect the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic. Reading out the tweet live on breakfast television, Morgan said: “Just had a large group over to lunch and we […]

Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin, who boasted of donating £50,000 to the Tory party ahead of the 2019 general election, has now blasted the “reckless” government for their decisions over the coronavirus pandemic. The pro-Brexit chairman has written to MPs criticising the second lockdown for their policies, which he says is hurting pubs. He wrote: “It is […]

Laurence Fox has been slammed for boasting that he had a “lovely” lunch with a “large group” of friends in a breach of lockdown rules, before criticising the NHS response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The actor said he had “hugged” the friends, before claiming that the NHS was not “fit for purpose” if it cannot […]

Boris Johnson has appointed Nadhim Zahawi as a health minister responsible for the deployment of coronavirus vaccines. Downing Street announced that the Stratford-on-Avon MP, who already serves as a business minister, would take on the role until at least next summer. Under the interim arrangement, he will serve as a joint minister between Department for […]

Boris Johnson has warned there will be “disastrous consequences” for the NHS if the new tiered system proposed by government does not win the support of MPs and the country. The prime minister, who is facing a rebellion from his own MPs over the measures, urged the nation to “work together” with tiering, testing and […]

Downing Street has attempted to have vials of the Oxford University Covid vaccine labelled with the Union flag. No. 10 asked a taskforce set up to fight calls for Scottish independence to work on having injections kits covered with the flag, the HuffPost UK has revealed. It also asked the unit focusing on developing the […]

UK aviation officials are scrambling to secure a travel corridor between New York and London following fears Joe Biden could scrap it in favour of one with Dublin when takes office as US president next year. Plans to establish a corridor between Heathrow and JFK airport – known as Project Nylon – before Biden moves into the […]

Robert Jenrick has admitted the government’s Christmas lockdown measures could “drive” a rise in Covid infection rates across England. The minister for communities and housing said he expected to see coronavirus rates increase after the Christmas break. Downing Street announced that “bubbles” of three households could meet indoors over a five-day period during Christmas in […]

When (if?) we finally have a public inquiry into the government’s response to the pandemic I think we will find that the combination of ‘Boosterism’ (entering lockdown late, coming out early, eat out to help out etc.) and ‘Chumocracy’ (purchase of PPE, Test and Trace etc.) has not served the country well, with both a […]

Boris Johnson faces a large-scale backlash from Conservative backbenchers after placing 99% of England into tier two or three lockdown measures. Tory MP Steve Baker described the measures as “authoritarian”, while others demanded the publication of a cost-benefit analysis of the restrictions. The government placed more than 23 million people into tier three restrictions on Thursday, […]

It’s clear Boris Johnson’s brazen approach will cost us all warns Michael White. The mighty Oxford English Dictionary has just celebrated the extraordinary nature of 2020 by issuing an unprecedented number of ‘words of the year’ – starting obviously with coronavirus and lockdown. Me, I was less ambitious in looking for words of the week. […]