Coronavirus

Robert Buckland has blamed the public for a second national lockdown after suggesting a lack of ‘compliance’ was the reason for harsher coronavirus measures. The justice secretary said a “tiny group of people” had been breaking Covid-19 regulations and that there was a “huge challenge” to get the public to follow the rules this time around. Speaking with the BBC, Buckland: “Sadly, it’s been […]

The prime minister will host a new coronavirus briefing as England entered a national lockdown for a second time. NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens will join the Downing Street event at 5pm on Thursday. It is unlikely that any new measures will be announced, but it follows chancellor Rishi Sunak revealing that furlough has […]

The Test and Trace system has reached the lowest ever proportion of contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England, a day after Boris Johnson said it had achieved a “remarkable feat”. Four in 10 close contacts of people who tested positive are still not being reached by the system, at the same […]

While all countries are grappling with coronavirus, France is also facing another profound crisis. JASON WALSH reports As France hunkers down for its latest coronavirus confinement, or lockdown – announced last week by Emmanuel Macron – the country knows it is heading into a period of unease, angst, economic devastation and death. And yet the […]

A handful of Tory MPs have defied public opinion and their own party to vote against Boris Johnson’s lockdown plans. The prime minister’s bill sailed through the Commons by 516 to 39 in a vote on Wednesday evening. Under the legislation, non-essential shops will be forced to close and social gatherings and non-essential travel banned from Thursday […]

MICHAEL WHITE on the growing twin nightmares of authoritarianism and incompetence in the week arch-opportunist Nigel Farage returns to frontline politics. Whatever the final outcome it was clear within hours of the polls closing that the result of the US election has not been the decisive repudiation of the Trump Era for which progressive opinion […]

One of Boris Johnson’s ministers was left red-faced after he failed to say how many people had received a coronavirus test on Wednesday during an appearance on BBC Breakfast. Buckland, the minister for justice, suggested over quarter of a million people had been tested on Wednesday but had to quickly retract that statement when he […]

LIZ GERARD is second to no one in her criticisms of Boris Johnson. Yet for all his manifest failings, she cannot help feel some sympathy for his current predicament. But when anger starts turning to pity, how long can a prime minister last? At what point does anger turn to pity? Do we rediscover our essential […]

A Brexiteer has been met with criticism for saying he will be voting against a second lockdown in the House of Commons. Peter Bone said that the government’s scientific and medical advisers had provided “dubious modelling”. There are lies, damned lies & then there are the likes of @PeterBoneUK, whose formal education clearly did not […]

Boris Johnson has accused Labour of playing “party politics” over a second lockdown, despite the fact the prime minister used the idea to beat Keir Starmer when he proposed national action.  The Labour leader used his time at the despatch box at Prime Minister’s Questions to ask if the PM understands the “human cost” of the […]

There are fresh hopes for a coronavirus vaccine at the end of England’s national lockdown after an NHS chief said GPs are gearing up to start delivering potential remedies before Christmas. Sir Simon Stevens said family doctors will be ready to start by Christmas “if the vaccine becomes available”, putting it in line with the […]

A legal challenge over the decision not to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules has been rejected by the High Court. London resident Martin Redston sought permission to take legal action against the director of public prosecutions (DPP), Max Hill QC, over the alleged failure to investigate whether Cummings breached lockdown […]

Business secretary Alok Sharma travelled to South Korea on government business only days after coming into contact with staff who later tested positive for Covid-19, it is understood. The cabinet minister last month came into close proximity with at least one member of his private office at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy […]

A radio caller has said the government’s biggest mistake tackling the coronavirus occurred days after the country exited lockdown. Caller Harry suggested that a decision by Downing Street to rapidly re-open the economy after the first lockdown may have had detrimental consequences on Covid infection rates. He explained to LBC radio that “schools and universities came back, there […]

A poll of those living in the north of England has found a majority think the government is treating the south of England better with its coronavirus response. A YouGov survey commissioned by BBC North West after the city was placed into Tier 3 showed that 67% of people asked thought that the South was […]

SIMON USHERWOOD on the new defining issue in British politics. In the autumn of 1991, a meeting was held in London. Convened by a lecturer at the London School of Economics, it resulted in a commitment by a cross-party group of individuals to stand in elections to protest at the big expansion of powers of […]

Robert Jenrick has admitted he “doesn’t know” how many tests will be needed for the government’s mass coronavirus testing programme in Liverpool. The government announced that Liverpool will become the first city to offer its citizens coronavirus tests in a new mass testing pilot programme from Friday. Anyone living or working in the city will be available […]

Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock are being sued over the appointment of Tory peer Dido Harding to run the government’s Test and Trace system. Runnymede Trust and the Good Law Project have brought forward legal proceedings against the two over alleged cronyism. The NGOs claim top-ranking affiliates of the Conservative Party were given key public sector […]

Robert Jenrick has joined fellow cabinet ministers in creating confusion about the rules which will apply when England’s second national lockdown begins on Thursday. Communities Secretary Jenrick suggested that an entire household could meet up with a friend, before then contradicting himself. The official guidance states that people in England can exercise or visit outdoor public […]

A legal challenge over the decision not to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of coronavirus lockdown rules will be heard by the High Court on Tuesday. The prime minister’s chief adviser caused controversy by making a 260-mile drive from London to Durham in March with his wife, journalist Mary Wakefield, and their four-year-old son to […]

Sir Keir Starmer has attacked the chancellor’s decision to block a “circuit breaker” lockdown and claimed the delay would have far-reaching consequences. The leader of opposition said the chancellor’s name was “all over” the decision to delay a nationwide lockdown during an appearance at the Confederation of British Industry conference in London. Sir Keir said Sunak’s decision […]

Boris Johnson has vowed to end the second lockdown on December 2 when the government “intends” to return to a regional tiered system. Johnson guaranteed “without a shred of doubt” that the restrictions would expire on December 2, amid concerns on the Conservative benches that England’s lockdown could be extended. A growing number of senior MPs on […]

Boris Johnson believes MPs should continue travelling from across the UK to Westminster despite the national lockdown coming into effect in England. The prime minister’s spokesperson said Johnson did not agree with arrangements for a virtual parliament which would involve many working from home. Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg later echoed the importance of MPs attending […]

The speaker of the House of Commons has criticised a leak that revealed ministers were about to announce another lockdown in England. Sir Lindsay Hoyle called the leak “unacceptable” and demanded the culprits apologise to parliament if an investigation launched over the weekend finds an MP was behind it. The prime minister was forced to […]

An ex-chief prosecutor has claimed he has new evidence proving Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules and has submitted it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Nazir Afzal, who lost his brother to Covid-19 in April, is fighting to have Cummings prosecuted for breaching lockdown regulations earlier this year. Afzal has claimed his lawyers have found […]

A government adviser has blamed the public for the low level of people being contacted by NHS Test and Trace staff. The official said the public’s reluctance to answer calls from unknown numbers was the reason so few people have been reached by the government’s test and trace team. Data released last week showed that two in […]

James O’Brien has said minsters are “psychologically incapable” of approaching issues without it turning into a fight during a take down of the prime minister’s latest lockdown measures. O’Brien delivered a withering attack on the prime minister’s handling of the national lockdown expected to come into force on Thursday. The prime minister announced a new four-week […]

A software glitch inside the government’s coronavirus app has led to thousands of people not being told to self-isolate when they should have been. They were apparently not contacted because the app has been set to the wrong sensitivity, the government has admitted to the Sunday Times. For more than a month, officials from the Department of Health and […]

Former EDL leader Tommy Robinson appears to have been arrested during a heated rally in London. Images on social media show Robinson in handcuffs as officers tried to clear a path to a police van through a shouting crowd. Robinson, 37, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, co-founded the far-right EDL (English Defence League) in […]

Nigel Farage has been branded a “chancer” for rebranding the Brexit Party into an anti-lockdown party, despite supporting such measures earlier in the year. The Brexiteer has lodged papers with the Electoral Commission to rebrand his old party as “Reform UK”, which he hopes will be the home for lockdown sceptics, despite an attempt from […]

Piers Morgan has launched a scathing attack on Boris Johnson’s decision to introduce a nationwide lockdown over the weekend. Morgan said the government’s announcement had come too late and accused Johnson of having no plan to get the nation out lockdown. The lockdown, expected to come into force on Thursday, will see non-essential shops close and people […]

The leader of the Scottish Conservative has said Boris Johnson made a “mistake” by rejecting calls for a second lockdown and extending furlough. Douglas Ross said that the prime minister should have listened to the scientists on the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) committee. Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Ross said […]