Politics

Ireland’s Prime Minister, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, has told Sky News there is “a route” to resolving tensions over the Brexit Protocol following US President Joe Biden’s intervention. He urged Boris Johnson to “very seriously consider” a veterinary-type agreement with the EU to eliminate “up to 80% of checks” on goods crossing from Great Britain to

Boris Johnson has admitted he is less optimistic about the easing of lockdown restrictions than he was last month and offered a strong hint he will delay the 21 June reopening. The prime minister, speaking to Sky News at the G7 summit in Cornwall, said he was prepared to be “cautious” over the fourth and

Ministers fear Boris Johnson may delay the final stage of lockdown lifting in England potentially by as much as a month. There is widespread pessimism across government over whether the prime minister will be able to give the green light to the fourth stage of unlocking on 21 June when he makes an announcement on

World leaders are set to enjoy toasted marshmallows over fire pits as they gather for their first in-person summit in almost two years to discuss the global response to COVID-19. At the G7 summit in Cornwall, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, as well as the EU, will meet to discuss

Boris Johnson needs to level with the public about what the future of travel will look like and tell them that “we will not eradicate” coronavirus completely from the UK, Theresa May has said. In a forthright intervention in the Commons, the former prime minister said it is “incomprehensible” that the UK, which is “one

Matt Hancock has denied claims he lied to the prime minister over the COVID care homes crisis and said “you can’t respond to a pandemic by pointing fingers”. The health secretary is being questioned by MPs two weeks after Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief aide, claimed he “should have been fired for at least

Boris Johnson and Joe Biden will set out their joint vision for a “sustainable global recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic when they meet ahead of the G7 summit in Cornwall. Holding their first face-to-face talks on Thursday, the leaders are expected to agree what has been billed as a new Atlantic Charter – a reference

The government broke the law by handing a coronavirus contract to an associate of ministers and the prime minister’s former chief aide, a judge has ruled. In a judgment on Wednesday, the High Court deemed the awarding of the £560,000 arrangement to communications agency Public First, which has connections with cabinet minister Michael Gove and

The UK and the EU are set to thrash out their differences over the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Brexit minister Lord Frost and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, will meet on Wednesday after the latter suggested the EU is finding it hard to trust the UK following its departure from the

Greater Manchester and Lancashire are to receive a “strengthened package of support” to tackle a rise in the Delta coronavirus variant, Matt Hancock has announced – with residents told to minimise travel. Addressing the Commons, the health secretary said: “I can tell the House that today, working with local authorities, we are providing a strengthened

Boris Johnson has narrowly avoided a rebellion by some of his own Conservative Party MPs over cuts to the foreign aid budget. Thirty Tories, including former prime minister Theresa May and four other cabinet ministers, had backed a rebellion against the £4bn reduction and had hoped to force a vote on the matter. But Commons

Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has accused Boris Johnson of being “missing in action” on the issue of border controls in Northern Ireland. The Labour minister told Sky News the government must sort out the border in the Irish Sea which is “causing absolute havoc” and warned ministers they have a responsibility to ensure any

The Indian (Delta) variant of COVID-19 is 40% more transmissible than previous variants, Matt Hancock has told Sky News. The health secretary said the new variant had made decisions behind the 21 June unlocking of restrictions “more difficult”. Speaking on the Trevor Phillips On Sunday show, Mr Hancock said: “That figure, around 40% more transmissible,

Tony Blair has said it is “time to distinguish” between people who have and haven’t had a coronavirus vaccine. The former prime minister has warned it “makes no sense at all to treat those who have had vaccination the same as those who haven’t” – and said relaxing measures for those who have had both

The prime minister will call on G7 leaders to pledge to vaccinate the world’s population against COVID-19 by the end of 2022. Boris Johnson is planning to use the UK’s presidency of the group to push for global vaccination coverage within the next 18 months. When he meets fellow G7 leaders face-to-face on Friday –

Businesses looking to secure government contracts will have to pledge to be net zero by 2050 under new requirements. From September, firms seeking public sector contracts worth more than £5m a year will also have to publish “clear and credible carbon reduction plans” before being considered, the Cabinet Office said. The move, which coincides with