Politics

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

Plans to tackle the record waiting list for NHS treatment could be derailed by emergency care demands and a lack of staff, MPs have warned. The backlog of patients waiting for planned care in England has soared to nearly six million as the number of 999 calls and A&E waiting times have both hit record

Changes to testing rules, which the government plans to announce today, are part of the delicate balance of “living with COVID” As infection numbers have soared during the past month of the Omicron wave, testing capacity has been increasingly stretched. Key workers including teachers and social care staff have reported waiting days for PCR tests

MPs are returning to Westminster after their Christmas break and plunging straight into a potentially fiery Prime Minister’s Questions and a Commons showdown over COVID-19. Besides the latest crisis over Omicron, Boris Johnson and Sir Keir Starmer are poised to clash over soaring energy bills, investigations into Downing Street parties, and the PM’s flat makeover.

Boris Johnson has not “earned the right” to be awarded a knighthood once he leaves Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Asked if the prime minister should be given an honour in the future, like Tony Blair, the Labour leader said: “No, I am sorry, I don’t think that this prime minister has earned

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

The medical chiefs leading the UK’s battle against coronavirus have been recognised with top awards in the New Year Honours list. England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty and his deputy Professor Jonathan Van-Tam have been given knighthoods, along with the chief medical officers for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, and Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith. There

Newly-released files from the National Archives have revealed George W Bush’s worries over his experience, negotiations over Diana’s funeral, and mooted plans to redesign the House of Commons. Here are some of the key revelations from the release of Cabinet Office and Number 10 files from the first years of Tony Blair’s premiership between 1997

Labour has written to Michael Gove to ask why his department reportedly supported an award of £330,000 from a government fund for a bid to fill potholes on a former Conservative peer’s driveway. In a letter, shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy demands Mr Gove release the criteria on which the decision was made, explain

Boris Johnson has praised the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for saving “many millions of lives” as the UK marks becoming the first country to approve the COVID vaccine exactly one year ago. On 30 December 2020, the Oxford/AstraZeneca shot became the second coronavirus jab approved by the UK’s independent medicines regulator – after Pfizer/BioNTech. To date, almost

Nicola Sturgeon has said it is her “expectation” that new COVID restrictions in Scotland will be in place until 17 January, as she urged people to “stay at home right now more than normal”. Since 27 December, nightclubs in Scotland have been forced to close unless they operate as a pub with table service and

Boris Johnson has said “up to 90%” of people currently in intensive care with COVID-19 have not had their booster jab as he urged the nation to take up the offer. Speaking to broadcasters, the prime minister said there are 2.4 million eligible double-jabbed people yet to take up the offer of a booster and

Priti Patel has ordered a review of the laws surrounding crossbow ownership. Under current legislation, people over 18 can legally purchase or possess a crossbow without needing a licence or any checks. It is an offence for anyone under 18 to buy or keep a crossbow or for anyone to sell a crossbow to someone

Jackie Weaver has revealed how her time in the spotlight this year “continues to feel like something that will not be here tomorrow” after going viral with a council meeting video. The 63-year-old became one of the most popular social media memes of the year after Handforth Parish Council’s infamous Zoom meeting went viral in

New restrictions are coming into force today in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in a bid to curb rising coronavirus cases. Further rules have not been announced in England, with Boris Johnson saying before Christmas that the data is being monitored but as yet does not justify stricter measures. It is understood school closures are