UK

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

Prince Harry has filed a claim for a judicial review over a Home Office decision to not to allow him to privately pay for police protection for himself and his family during a visit to the UK. A legal representative for Harry said he wants to bring his son Archie and seven-month-old baby daughter Lilibet

Boris Johnson should be kicked out in the national interest, the Labour leader has said following fresh claims of Downing Street boozing in defiance of lockdown restrictions. Sir Keir Starmer has further ramped up the pressure on the embattled prime minister arguing he had lost his moral authority and was too preoccupied in “defending his

Boris Johnson is facing claims that regular drinking sessions were held in Downing Street throughout the COVID pandemic with reports that staff held “wine-time Fridays”. In fresh allegations in the “partygate” scandal engulfing the prime minister, it is alleged that the weekly event was scheduled into the electronic calendars of around 50 staff in Number

Number 10 has apologised to the Queen over two parties held in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. The prime minister’s spokesperson said it was “deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning”. Earlier on Friday, the prime minister’s former director of communications apologised “unreservedly” for one of

The woman who has accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault has said she will “continue to expose the truth” and thanked the judge who rejected the royal’s attempts to have the lawsuit thrown out. Virginia Giuffre tweeted: “I’m pleased with Judge Kaplan’s ruling yesterday that allows my case against Prince Andrew to go forward. I’m

The isolation period for fully vaccinated people in England who test positive for COVID will be reduced from seven days to five, the health secretary has announced. “Two-thirds of positive cases are no longer infectious by the end of day five,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the Commons, citing data from the UK Health Security

Boris Johnson has apologised after admitting that he attended a Downing Street garden drinks party during the first lockdown. Addressing the Commons under intense pressure from MPs, including those on his own government benches, to confirm whether he attended a drinks gathering at Number 10 on 20 May 2020, the prime minister said he had

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has demanded Boris Johnson “just answer the question” about whether he attended a “bring your own booze” event in Downing Street during the first COVID lockdown. Speaking to Sky News, a “furious” Mr Ross called on the prime minister to “settle this right now” as to whether he was present

A senior Conservative has told Sky News that claims Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie attended a drinks event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown are “indefensible”. They told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the situation is “as bad as it gets”. “The fact that [Oliver] Dowden

The prime minister and his wife Carrie attended a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown. More than 100 employees in Number 10 were invited to the drinks on 20 May 2020. In what has been described as evidence of “more rule breaking at the heart

A judge has rejected Prince Andrew’s attempt to have the sexual assault lawsuit against him thrown out. US judge Lewis Kaplan refused to dismiss the case after hearing arguments from lawyers representing the royal and his accuser Virginia Giuffre. It means the royal will face a civil sex case trial later this year. The Duke

People with high levels of T cells from common colds are less likely to catch COVID, according to a new peer-reviewed study. Researchers said the findings could help provide the blueprint for the production of new vaccines which give longer-lasting immunity and would protect against current and future coronavirus variants such as Omicron and Delta.

The UK has recorded 141,472 new COVID-19 cases and a further 97 deaths in the latest 24-hour period. The latest government figures compare to 146,390 infections and 313 fatalities recorded on Saturday, which took the UK’s total COVID-related death toll to more than 150,000. This time last week, 151,663 cases were reported along with 73