Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak is under fire for being “missing in action” in California while British businesses battle against the Omicron variant’s devastating impact on Christmas spending and the UK’s economy. The Bank of England shocked markets with an unexpected hike in interest rates today (December 16) to 0.25%, increasing the cost of […]
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The UK recorded 52,009 new Covid cases in the latest 24 hours – the first time the number has topped 50,000 in three months and the highest since July 17 – representing a 17.9% increase in the last seven days. The daily number of patients admitted to hospital with coronavirus (data provided on October 17) […]
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For the first time in its 167 year history, the Met Office issued an “amber extreme heat warning” for parts of the UK with the sweltering temperatures set to peak on Thursday at over 33C. The country bakes but Boris Johnson may be feeling the heat more than most after a truly surreal turn of […]
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Boris Johnson has announced another major U-turn by recommending England’s nightclubs and large events require people to show a Covid vaccine passport to gain entry. The prime minister confirmed England will end almost all of its Covid restrictions on Monday, July 19 but warned life will not “instantly revert” to normal. Ministers and experts have […]
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A leading scientist has warned the latest Covid data suggests “the start of an epidemic in the young”, putting more pressure on the government to delay lifting restrictions on June 21. Fears that ‘Freedom Day’ will be postponed are rising following confirmation that the UK’s R rate for the coronavirus is back above one. The […]
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Dominic Cummings has savaged Boris Johnson and his government during a blistering seven hours of testimony to MPs on Wednesday about the response from Number 10 to the pandemic. “Tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die” during the pandemic because of government failings, said Cummings, who claimed the prime minister dismissed […]
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The chief medical officer for England has warned “a lot more people will die” if the government lifts lockdown restrictions too soon. Chris Whitty told MPs on Tuesday (March 9) that despite the vaccine roll-out he expected a “significant” and “substantial” surge in Covid infections given there is “nothing to suggest the virus is going […]
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Boris Johnson has laid out England’s exit from lockdown, declaring “the end is in sight” on the day the UK passed 129,498 deaths of people with Covid-19. The prime minister’s “cautious but also irreversible” road map out of lockdown is, he hopes, a “one way road to freedom” where even nightclubs could be open on […]
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Boris Johnson has said he takes “full responsibility” for the government’s actions that have led to the UK passing the 100,000 mark for the number of people who have died with coronavirus. A sombre prime minister insisted his government “truly did everything we could” to fight the virus and limit deaths caused by Covid, yet […]
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A cabal of Conservative MPs are pressing the prime minister to set out an exit strategy from lockdown as the UK records it highest daily death toll from the virus to date. Another 1,610 people have died within 28 days of a positive test for Covid-19 – a new record high that takes the total […]
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