UK

The return to school is driving up Omicron infections in children and could lead to another surge in adults, scientists have warned. The latest results from the REACT-1 study, which is based on around 100,000 random tests across England, show that the infection rate in primary school-age children was 7.8% – and rising – during

Boris Johnson is meeting his Cabinet amid the growing threat of war with President Putin in eastern Europe and more humiliating Downing Street party allegations at home. After a lengthy council of war with President Biden and other European leaders, the prime minister is expected to step up diplomatic efforts to prevent a Russian invasion

Dominic Cummings has revealed he has provided written evidence to the investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown – and claims “other damaging stories” will emerge until Boris Johnson is out of office. Sue Gray is looking into parties and gatherings in Number 10 and other government departments during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021.

The Liverpool terror attacker’s asylum claim was dismissed six years before he tried to carry out his strike, court documents show. Emad al Swealmeen died after his homemade bomb detonated inside a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Remembrance Sunday last year. He came to the UK legally in May 2014, with a Jordanian passport.

Boris Johnson met Tory MP Nusrat Ghani in 2020 following her claim she was sacked over her “Muslimness” – and “invited” her to make a formal complaint, Number 10 has said. The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson held a meeting with Ms Ghani after she claimed a Tory whip told her her faith

The chief whip has said an MP’s claims that she was sacked as a minister because of her Muslim faith are “completely false”. Nusrat Ghani, the 49-year-old MP for Wealden in East Sussex, was sacked as transport minister in a February 2020 re-shuffle. Ms Ghani said she was told by a whip, who she did

Attempts to pressure Tory MPs trying to topple Boris Johnson are illegal, the head of a Westminster sleaze watchdog has argued. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who is chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, said alleged threats to pull public funding from members’ constituencies amounted to “misconduct in public office” and should be reported to the

Police will meet with a Conservative MP who has alleged that government figures have been engaging in “intimidation” that amounts to “blackmail” against Tories who have questioned Boris Johnson’s position. A Scotland Yard detective will talk with William Wragg next week about his allegation, which comes as the prime minister is under pressure over a

The UK Health Security Agency has designated the Omicron variant sub-lineage, known as BA.2, as a variant under investigation – with current case rates very low. Just 53 sequences of the sub-lineage had been identified in the UK by 10 January, the HSA said. The health body said further analysis will be undertaken. BA.2 does

COVID-19 restrictions introduced to curb the spread of the Omicron variant toward the end of last year are now being relaxed across the UK and in the Republic of Ireland. Boris Johnson confirmed on Wednesday that most measures under Plan B will end on 26 January, while work from home guidance has already been dropped.

Conservative MPs who want Boris Johnson to resign have been intimidated by the party and should contact the police if they have been blackmailed, a senior Tory has warned. William Wragg, chair of the public administration and constitutional affairs committee, said a “number of MPs have faced intimidation” after declaring, or assumed to have declared,

A defiant Boris Johnson is clinging on to power, insisting he won’t quit even if his enemies in the Tory party force a vote of confidence in his leadership The prime minister is determined to fight back, boosted by an apparent split among the Tory plotters on when to launch their coup and on who

Work from home guidance, COVID passports and mandatory wearing of face-masks will be scrapped in England, as Boris Johnson announced the lifting of Plan B measures. The prime minister said people will no longer be told to work from home “from now on”, and from Thursday next week mandatory mask-wearing and COVID certification will end.

Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote in his leadership of the Conservative Party after enough MPs submitted letters calling for a contest. It will take place between 6pm and 8pm this evening in the House of Commons and an announcement is expected about an hour after the vote closes. After months of speculation, it

Boris Johnson is set to announce an easing of Plan B coronavirus restrictions in England. The prime minister will go through the latest COVID-19 data on Wednesday morning with his ministers, before making a statement to MPs. Mr Johnson’s Commons announcement comes as pressure continues to mount over parties and gatherings held in Downing Street

Boris Johnson has said “nobody told me” the Number 10 garden party during lockdown was “against the rules”. The prime minister said he “humbly apologises” to people for misjudgements that were made but he would not have gone ahead with the event if he thought it broke the rules. He said: “I’m saying categorically that

Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser has said the prime minister knew in advance about a Downing Street drinks party during the first coronavirus lockdown and agreed that it could go ahead. In an updated post on his Substack page, Dominic Cummings said he raised his concerns about the event in the Number 10 garden in

The body of a British woman swept away by the tsunami in Tonga has been found, her brother has confirmed. Angela Glover, from Brighton, disappeared after an undersea volcano erupted near the country on Saturday, sending large tsunami waves crashing across the island’s shore. The 50-year-old’s family and friends had appealed for information on her

The time people must spend in isolation for contracting COVID has been reduced to five days in England, as 16 and 17-year-olds have been invited to receive their COVID-19 vaccine booster. People in England can now leave quarantine after five full days providing they test negative on days five and six. Ministers reduced the isolation

Coronavirus restrictions in England could be lifted by the end of January, with the Tory party chairman saying he was “hopeful”, thanks to “encouraging signs”. The current Plan B rules – which includes the mandatory wearing of face masks in some settings, the use of vaccine passports or negative lateral flow tests to enter some