Coronavirus

A week is a long time in politics. In this Covid crisis – it’s a lifetime. Or more accurately, it’s the difference between life and death. Tragically, this government’s inability to act swiftly has led to untold thousands of deaths. They dithered in March. And now we know if Boris Johnson had instructed the full […]

A government minister has struggled to defend the pay of some private contractors behind the ailing NHS Test and Trace system. A report by Sky News revealed the government is paying contractors from the Boston Consulting Group around £7,000 a day to help with the coronavirus test and trace system. Up to 40 consultants were paid […]

If the definition of insanity – apocryphally attributed to Einstein, though he never said it – is repeating the same thing and expecting different results, then the definition of idiocy must surely be facing an existential crisis and doing… nothing. Coronavirus was an international crisis in March and remains an international crisis seven months on. […]

A pub in the Wirral has temporarily renamed itself ‘The Three Bellends’ in protest at the government’s coronavirus restrictions for Merseyside. The James Atherton in New Brighton, the Wirral, has renamed itself “The Three Bellends” – with a sign featuring the faces of prime minister Boris Johnson, his close adviser Dominic Cummings and health secretary […]

Private sector consultants are being paid day rates of around £7,500 by the government to help with its coronavirus test and trace system, according to reports.  Sky News said it has seen documents revealing Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was paid about £10 million for around 40 consultants to provide four months’ work between the end […]

The majority of the public back the introduction of a circuit-breaker lockdown over the October half-term, as proposed by Labour’s Keir Starmer, according to a new poll. YouGov asked more than 3,390 adults in Great Britain whether they would support or oppose two weeks of tough restrictions later this month. Some 68% of respondents said […]

Labour has accused the Tories of “showing contempt” for the public after not a single one its backbenchers was present for a debate on coronavirus measures, including the furlough scheme and evictions bans. Only one minister was present for sections of Wednesday’s Opposition Day debate which focused on funding for northern areas under lockdown, replacements […]

The Welsh government has imposed restrictions that will see people travelling there from virus hotspots around the UK banned from entering. The Senedd’s plans will bring people elsewhere in the UK in line with measures currently in place in the 17 areas of Wales under local lockdown restrictions. Under those rules, people must not enter […]

Boris Johnson is under pressure to implement a “circuit-breaker” lockdown, which scientists calculate could save thousands of lives by the end of the year. Downing Street is understood to be keeping the idea on the table, after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said a two to three-week national lockdown over the October half term was needed to […]

The work and pensions minister has sparked outrage after refusing to say if she could live on the £5.84-an-hour wage paid by the government’s new furlough scheme. Under the chancellor’s new proposals those earning minimum wage – currently £8.72 for those over 25, would only receive two-thirds of what they are normally paid. But asked […]

Former Tory prime minister Theresa May has reportedly told prime minister Boris Johnson that business-minded experts should be added to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage). May told the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs that she is keen that more business-minded people appeared at the meetings to give scientists more of an understanding about the […]

A Conservative MP has resigned as a ministerial aide over coronavirus restrictions, saying the “attempted cure is worse than the disease”. Chris Green, who represents Bolton West, said the Greater Manchester lockdown had “failed to control the number of positive tests” within his borough. In a letter to prime minister, Green said he was resigning […]

Sir Keir Starmer has called on the prime minister to impose a national “circuit-breaker” lockdown following reports the government ignored advice to implement one back in September. The Labour leader has broken ranks to criticise the government over its latest lockdown measures. Speaking at a press conference, Starmer said: “There’s no longer time to give […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer is to hold his first televised press conference in response to Monday’s Downing Street press briefing. Whilst Johnson fronted this week’s event alongside chief medical officer Chris Whitty and chancellor Rishi Sunak, he is not expected to front the new ‘White House’ style press briefings starting soon. Johnson has hired former journalist […]

Downing Street has given a lengthy defence against allegations it ignored advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) on a “circuit-breaker” national lockdown. Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said the prime minister had taken a “considered analysis” of the economic impacts and the public health threat of the virus when he decided not to impose a second […]

Voters in America believe that Joe Biden is the best candidate to help the country recover from coronavirus, polling suggests. With three weeks to go until the November 3 election, analysis suggests Covid-19 remains “front and centre” for the American voting public. Ipsos USA, a public opinion specialist, interviewed thousands of Americans to understand the key […]

Wales’ first minister has threatened to close the Welsh border if Boris Johnson does not impose a travel ban on virus hotspots in England. Mark Drakeford told the prime minister he had “one final opportunity” to stop people crossing the border from England. Drakeford has pledged to write to the prime minister urging him to impose […]

A Tory minister has claimed that businesses have their “head in the sands” over the impact that Brexit will have on their companies. Cabinet Office minister Lord Agnet said “it’s their businesses at stake” if they fail to prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. Agnew said that businesses had […]

A majority of Britons do not believe Boris Johnson has a clear plan for tackling the latest coronavirus outbreak, new polling has shown. A survey by YouGov asked just under 3,000 British adults if they felt assured the prime minister had a plan to contain the virus following his statement on new coronavirus measures on […]

Boris Johnson’s plan for tackling coronavirus will be voted on by MPs, despite warnings from his scientific advisers that it does not go far enough. Official papers showed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) suggested introducing a national lockdown in September lasting between two and three weeks to halt the rapid spread of the […]

Microsoft said UK firms risk losing their competitiveness because of the impacts of the coronavirus and Brexit. The tech giant was “ringing the alarm bell” after it said almost half of companies are struggling to remain competitive. New research by Microsoft, alongside academics at Goldsmiths, University of London, showed that 46% of UK companies have seen […]

News that the pub chain Wetherspoons could be exempt from new lockdown restrictions in Merseyside has caused outrage online. Pubs that serve food will be allowed to remain open in Merseyside while so called “wet pubs” have been forced to close under new coronavirus restrictions, the Guardian‘s Josh Halliday has reported. Under Boris Johnson’s new three-tiered […]

A government minister has admitted local councils are “bound to be better” at contact tracing than Westminster. Robert Jenrick has admitted that after outsourcing the test and trace system to the private sector, and running it centrally, it would have been better to let local authorities run their own scheme. The communities secretary said councils […]

Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford has described Boris Johnson’s proposals for travel restrictions for coronavirus hotspots in England as “inadequate”. It came as Wales’s health minister said there is now evidence that travel to and from areas of England with high rates of Covid-19 has contributed to the spread of the virus to other areas of […]

A group of MPs are launching legal action against the government after it failed to account for £3 billion in private coronavirus contracts since the start of the lockdown in April. Three cross-party MPs and the Good Law Project – a non-for-profit organisation – have filed a judicial review against the government for breaching the law and […]

Boris Johnson is to announce a new three-tier system of local lockdown measures for England in an effort to curb rising Covid-19 rates. – What is happening? Different parts of the country will be split up into “medium”, “high” or “very high” local coronavirus alert areas under the new system. It comes after the prime […]

Matt Hancock has dismissed claims he broke the drinking curfew after he was allegedly spotted consuming wine at a Common’s bar after 10pm. A senior Tory MP told the Mail on Sunday that Hancock had remained in the Smoking Room bar until at least 10.25pm last Monday despite the Commons speaker insisting all of parliament’s venues […]

A government minister has been grilled over the chancellor’s new furlough scheme which will see workers have to survive on £5.84 an hour. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden refused to say if he could live off the government’s new minimum wage for furloughed workers. During an interview on Sky News, Dowden discussed the impact new coronavirus restrictions are having […]

Margaret Ferrier has claimed she was “hung out to dry” by the SNP after posting a scripted statement in which she admitted breaching coronavirus rules. The Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP had the party whip withdrawn after travelling while awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test. In an interview with The Scottish Sun, she said […]

Wales’ first minister has hit back at Donald Trump after criticisms of his country over local lockdowns, saying he thinks Americans would be “delighted” to be more like Wales in tackling coronavirus. Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham tweeted “Your future under Biden: ‘Rolling lockdowns’ will become norm in Wales” along with a link to a BBC News article […]

Boris Johnson has been compared to a school teacher losing control of the class by members of his own party in the House of Lords. A ban on singing, mingling and dancing in groups of more than six in pubs and restaurants came under fire in the House of Lords during a debate on the limits […]

Good Morning Britain celebrity doctor Hilary Jones has sparred with a pro-Brexit journalist over her comments on herd immunity. The row erupted when former Times journalist Isabel Oakeshott locked horns with Dr Gabriel Scally, who sits on the independent board of SAGE, on the issue of herd immunity. Oakeshott argued that younger people should be exempt from […]