Boris Johnson can run from the latest “partygate” allegations, but he can’t hide. This is no longer about junior and middle-ranking Number 10 officials breaking COVID rules but about the prime minister’s own personal conduct. From the moment Mr Jonson failed to deny that he attended the now notorious “bring your own booze” party in
Politics
Boris Johnson has said the UK is making “great progress” in tackling Omicron – but warned the variant remains “incredibly contagious”. Speaking following a pharmacy visit, the prime minister said 36 million people have now received the booster jab and are more protected from Omicron, but acknowledged that the number of people in hospital with
Almost half of all Tory members now believe that Rishi Sunak would make a better leader and could win more seats at the next election than Boris Johnson, an exclusive poll for Sky News has found. A third of the Tory membership now think Mr Johnson should stand down as Tory leader. Almost four in
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
Leaseholders in lower-rise blocks of flats are set to be spared having to take out loans to remove dangerous cladding from their buildings as the government prepares to “reset” its approach to the scandal. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, is due to make a statement in which he
More than one million people have signed a petition calling for Sir Tony Blair to have his knighthood removed. The former Labour prime minister, who was in office between 1997 and 2007, was appointed a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in the New Year Honours list. However, there has been
The NHS is facing a “rocky few weeks ahead” as it contends with a wave of Omicron cases, the health secretary has said – as two major incidents were declared in England due to pressures caused by the COVID variant’s spread. Speaking during a visit to King’s College Hospital in south London, Sajid Javid said
Boris Johnson has questions to answer over his apparent backing for a “great exhibition” plan supported by a Conservative donor who helped pay for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, Labour has said. “It stinks. It does appear to be cash for access,” the party’s shadow justice secretary Steve Reed told Sky News. He
Boris Johnson has offered a “humble and sincere apology” for failing to disclose WhatsApp messages with a Tory peer in which he discussed the funding of his Downing Street flat refurbishment – and blamed getting a new phone for not declaring the conversation. In a series of letters between the prime minister and his independent
Pre-departure coronavirus testing for people returning to England has been scrapped because it has “outlived its usefulness” amid the rapid spread of Omicron in the UK and around the world, the transport secretary has told Sky News. “Omicron is global, it is worldwide, everybody has it now, the proportion that comes in overseas is completely
Boris Johnson denied during PMQs that he’d ever described inflation fears as “unfounded” – despite Sky News having him saying just that on camera. Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer as he has COVID, told the prime minister he claimed in October that public fears about inflation were “unfounded”. Three
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has tested positive for coronavirus, a party spokesman has said. Deputy leader Angela Rayner will stand in for him at Prime Minister’s Questions later. It comes a day after Sir Keir delivered a speech to an audience in Birmingham setting out his new “contract with the British people” and his
A petition calling for Sir Tony Blair to be stripped of his knighthood has been signed by more than 670,000 people. The former prime minister was made a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter in the Queen’s New Year’s honours list. However, a petition started three days ago has said he
Sir Keir Starmer is beginning the New Year with an ambitious speech putting patriotism at the heart of the Labour Party’s strategy to win support from voters. Welcoming the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games later this year, he claims it is not unpatriotic to criticise things that are going wrong in the country.
The first thing that was apparent as Boris Johnson made his first public appearance of 2022 was that he has a New Year haircut and was wearing a new tie that we haven’t seen before. Christmas present from Carrie? More importantly, could the prime minister’s neat new haircut – the untidy, dishevelled blond mop of
Schools have been advised by ministers to start preparing for COVID staff shortages by merging classes into larger groups and considering “flexible” teaching options. The latest advice sent to schools in an email from the Department of Education and published in an open letter by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi comes as many pupils prepare to
Further COVID restrictions in England are not expected this week thanks to people testing and getting their boosters, a cabinet minister has suggested. His confidence comes despite warnings from NHS leaders about an intensifying ‘health emergency’ as COVID admissions rise. Cabinet Office minister Stephen Barclay said there has been a “significant behaviour change” by the
Secondary school students in England are again being asked to wear masks in classrooms to help tackle the rise in Omicron coronavirus cases. The recommendation comes as the government pledges to keep face-to-face education going despite surging COVID-19 infections in England, with a record 162,572 new cases reported on Saturday. Masks will “maximise the number
Further restrictions triggered by COVID must be an “absolute last resort” and the UK will now have to “live alongside” the virus in 2022, Sajid Javid has said. The health secretary has said the wave of Omicron infections will “test the limit of finite NHS capacity even more than a typical winter”, with reports suggesting
New post-Brexit customs rules for goods arriving in Britain from the European Union have come into effect, changes that a leading food industry body has warned could cause disruption and potentially lead to food shortages. Importers must now make full customs declarations on goods entering the UK from the EU and other countries. Traders can